


Four Walls

by seokonthat



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-06-27 22:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19799038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seokonthat/pseuds/seokonthat
Summary: After a messy divorce Doyoung finds himself in the last place he wants to be: his hometown. With nothing else to do he uses the last of his savings to restore the house he grew up in. It takes more work than he expects and he ends up hiring a local contractor... Who is a lot hotter now than he was in high school.





	Four Walls

**Author's Note:**

> First I would like to thank whoever saw inside my brain and submitted this prompt. As someone who loves Johndo and has watched a lot of HGTV with my mom, this was right up my alley and I had so much fun writing this. I hope I did your prompt justice!
> 
> Now on to the fic!

When Doyoung was little, his grandma used to sit him on her lap and tell him fantastical stories. Unlike normal fairy tales however, these completely terrified Doyoung to his very core. Later in life he realized that she was making them all up to impose morals onto him at an early age, but the deed was already done. 

The worst one was about a boy named Junseo who was pushed by his friend into a precious vase that was made for the king causing it to shatter into thousands of pieces. After that he was ostracized by the townspeople and cursed for the rest of his life.

“But it’s not fair Halmeoni!” Doyoung used to cry out, “He didn’t even do anything wrong and now all of his friends hate him.”

“That’s because life isn’t fair little one,” she would reply while stroking his hair as Doyoung cried.

Years later when Doyoung got home from work early, made himself a bowl of cereal and walked in on his husband of two years naked with a stranger the first thing that crossed through his mind was the little boy named Junseo as he looked at the remnants of his broken bowl of cereal on the ground.

His second thought was much darker and involved plotting to chemically castrate his now ex-lover. Instead he filed for divorce, quit his job and moved back to his childhood home like any normal, functioning, definitely not on the brink of a nervous breakdown adult would do.

His parents had been planning on downsizing and were thrilled that Doyoung could take the house off their hands. They had already planned on moving to a warmer climate and had talked Doyoung into moving in so they didn’t have to sell it to a stranger.

“It just needs a few minor fixes,” his mom laughed over the phone while being a bit too eager to pass off their nest egg. “All cosmetic darling, don’t worry.”

He should have known that his parents were dirty liars but they were long gone by the time he arrived at his new home. The steps were cracked and the porch didn’t look like it could support the weight of a baby, let alone Doyoung. The siding was deeply in need of a fresh coat of paint and the “garden” his mom used to take pride in was now looking more like a forest. It looked one strong gust of wind away from toppling over. No wonder his parents wanted to give him this house. The only way they could get rid of it was if it was free.

“Jesus,” Doyoung whispered under his breath looking at the catastrophe in front of him.

“Well, well, well. The prodigal son finally returns.” He heard someone cat call from the porch next to his. He looked over to see his neighbor leaning against the railing holding some sort of mint julep type drink. Glad to see some things never change.

“Nice to see you again too Yuta.” Doyoung rolled his eyes. He did mean it though. It had been years since he’s seen his old friend and he was certainly grateful for a familiar face. “Are you going to help me with my bags or just watch as I struggle?”

“Just watch.” Yuta called back. Doyoung flipped him off, which caused him to huff and finally give in and walk down the stairs. Yuta graced him with his “Best Smile” superlative in person and pulled him into a hug that was entirely too handsy.

“Hey you’re a married man. Keep your hands off my butt.” Doyoung complained.

“He’s just as bad.” Yuta laughed. This was very true. He gave Doyoung one last pat before saying “Let’s get you unpacked.”

Doyoung almost went up the stairs before he realized it was a death wish. “How…”

“Your parents have been exclusively using the side door. That’s still in tact.” Yuta lead the way through the forest to the side entrance.

“How did it get this bad? Doyoung looked around, face still stuck in an awestruck expression. “My parents are such meticulous people they would have never stood for this mess.”

“They haven’t been home much.” Yuta shrugged. “They visited your brother for awhile and then were on constant vacay. They were probably relieved when you came back so that they didn’t have to fix any of it.”

“I’m sure they were. A few cosmetic problems my ass.” Doyoung shivered. They had finally entered the home and there were drafts galore. The inside had significantly less damage than the outside. It was definitely in need of a good cleaning and probably a few coats of paint but at least it was liveable. 

“Now what?” Doyoung wondered out loud. “I’ll never be able to do this by myself.

“I know.” Yuta snickered. “We had woodshop together in high school. I don’t think you can do any of this.”

Doyoung would normally fight this obvious slander but even he couldn’t defend his handyman skills. He was a danger to himself and anyone around him when you put a hammer in his hands.

“Luckily for you I know a good contactor. Buy me lunch and I’ll give you his number.” Yuta was always a good negotiator and twenty minutes later they were ordering burgers at the local cafe that Doyoung spent most of his high school life.

Yuta leaned over and stole a fry off Doyoung’s plate even though he hasn’t touched his yet. Doyoung smacked his hand so loud it reverberated through the chaos happening around them. He’s always liked this diner. He used to order a milkshake and do homework here long after the library had closed. It was surprisingly calming after the dinner rush. Unlike the current situation where two babies were definitely having a scream off.

“Ok I have more than earned the name of your contactor.” Doyoung glared across the table at the aforementioned fry thief.

“Fine fine. I’m just trying to have lunch with an old friend but if you want to make this about business I can make that happen.” Yuta made grabby hands for Doyoung’s phone. The baby in the booth behind him mirrored that image. Doyoung bit his lip to not laugh at the whole situation although Yuta is a big baby was reverberating through his brain.

He had been worried that his decision to move back home had been too brash and that he was going to regret it, but falling back into his version of a friendship with Yuta had been easy, so he was convinced the rest of it will be too.

“Done and done.” Yuta announced and gave Doyoung back his phone finally. 

“Thanks Yuta.” Doyoung stole a fry off of Yuta’s plate for once. “How do you even know a contractor anyways? I would have thought you would be too stubborn to hire anyone to help out.”

“Oh, he's an old friend.” Yuta grinned mysteriously. That wasn’t a good sign.

“How old? Do I know him?” Now Doyoung was curious. This town was small enough that he knew everyone around their age, whether he wanted to or not.

“Hmmm, I don’t think so.” Yuta imitated the thinker. “I guess you’ll have to find out.”

“Is it your mission to make me hate you? I’ve only been back 2 hours and it’s already working.” Doyoung narrowed his eyes whilst shooting daggers across the table.

“You love me.” Yuta brushed him off, and then not so subtly wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You’ll love me even more soon.”

“What does that mean?” Getting absolutely nothing from his friend he tried it again. “Yuta what does that mean?”

“You’ll seeeee.” Yuta laughed and proceeded to give no more information.

//

After spending a night alone in the worlds most wind filled house, Doyoung decided it was absolutely necessary to contact Yuta’s contractor immediately. He couldn’t spend another night terrified to close his eyes because of the strange noises that were being emitted through the halls. 

It didn’t help that Doyoung wasn’t used to sleeping alone. Even before he married the devil incarnate, they lived together for years. Doyoung will never admit it but he’s always been touch starved. Ever since he was 15 and realized that he liked boys he had never really stayed single for long. In fact these unbearable months after the divorce were probably the longest he’s been unattached since high school. It was weird and definitely not welcome.

Unfortunately the larger part of Doyoung’s brain didn’t allow him to jump into something before now. This wasn’t like his other failed relationships. This one also kept him up at night just as much as the creek from the floorboards. Doyoung has never been one to blame himself, especially since his ex tried to. He’s a reasonable person and knows that nothing he would have done would have stopped him from cheating so it should be easy to move on.

Doyoung just kept thinking about the years and years he put into that relationship. He thinks about their wedding. He thinks about the amount of times he said I love you and whether those were ever reciprocated. His mind never stops turning thinking about every decision that has led him to lie in this bed alone, and scared to drift off to sleep.

Once it finally hit a respectable time to text another human being, Doyoung pulled out his phone to finally hire Yuta’s contractor. Yuta had already warned his friend that Doyoung will contact him so he wasn’t too worried about it.

Doyoung _ : _

_ Hi, my name is Doyoung and I’m a friend of Yuta’s. He mentioned that you were a contractor and I’m in desperate need of some help repairing my parents house. I was wondering if we could meet up and discuss details, if it’s not too much trouble. _

He only had to wait half an hour before getting a response.

Contractor Extradinoare 😏🔨💦:

_ Oh yeah Yuta mentioned that you need help. _

_ I have some time later on this afternoon. I can stop by if that works for you. _

Goddamn it Yuta. He will have to change that contact as soon as he knows their name.

Doyoung _ : _

_ Yes that works for me! I’ll send you my address. Thanks for doing this on such short notice. _

Contractor Extradinoare 😏🔨💦:

_ I know where you live Doyoung… _

Well that solves that mystery. So he definitely knows his future contactor. Strike 2 against Yuta. 

Doyoung:

_ Haha of course. Just making sure… _

Contractor Extradinoare 😏🔨💦:

_ Yuta didn’t tell you who I was did he? _

Doyoung:

_ No. Is it that obvious? _

Contractor Extradinoare 😏🔨💦:

_ That sounds like Yuta… I’ll see you around 3 later? _

Doyoung:

_ 3 works for me! _

Doyoung walked past a mirror and took in his appearance and realized he had a lot of work to do before the contractor got here. Not that he was trying to make too much of an impression or anything. He just didn’t want the person he was hopefully going to hire to see him looking like a ragamuffin. So he went all out and after getting out of the shower he actually did his entire skin care routine for the first time in months. He pulled some of his more casual clothes out of his suitcase and then waited around for this mysterious contractor.

He decided to run over to Yuta’s a little bit beforehand to see if he could get any information out of him. Just his luck though, as Yuta for once wasn’t home no matter how many times Doyoung rang their doorbell. Frustrated he kicked their door frame out of complete pettiness.

“Doyoung?”

Oh shit. Of course that was his first impression. Doyoung turned to look at the familiar figure standing in his front yard. Oh. Oh boy. He definitely did know his contractor, but had not seen him looking like this before. There stood Johnny Seo, who Doyoung had been in class with since they were literal kids. The Johnny Seo that was etched in his memory was, for lack of better words, a huge dork. 

He used to have this long stringy hair and would only talk about emo bands that he had never heard of before. Needless to say they didn’t talk much. They had many mutual friends but had never really hung out together. Definitely not in a one on one setting. Doyoung was regretting that because this is possibly the biggest glow up he’s ever seen. He’s always been tall but the lankiness used to make him look like an awkward slenderman instead of… well a total hunk. Does Johnny Seo work out now? 

“Doyoung?” Johnny repeated. Now his first impression had morphed from being angry loser kicking his friends door frame to being a total creep who had definitely spent the last minute raking his eyes over Johnny’s entire body.

“Yes. Hi Johnny. It’s been a while.” Doyoung tried to play it off. His voice came out squeaky so that was a fail.

Johnny finally stopped looking at Doyoung and took one look at the house in front of him and let out a low whistle. “Oh wow this does need some help. I’m glad Yuta gave you my number.”

“Yeah my parents really undersold the damage when I decided to move back.” Doyoung nervously giggled. 

“So you’re here for good?” Johnny’s voice was soft while asking such a probing question.

“Until I figure some things out.” Doyoung responded. He left out that the thing he needed to figure out was just what he should do with his life from here on out. Just even thinking about it for a minute almost sent him into a mild panic. Shuddering he pushed that deep down and tried to focus on the task at hand. “Would you like a tour?”

“Yes definitely. I'd like to assess the damage.” Johnny pulled out a notepad and grabbed the pen he had resting on his ear. Doyoung bit his lip and added “pen behind ear” to his mental kinks list. 

He then leads Johnny to the side entrance making sure to mention all the problems he had previously encountered during his own tour yesterday. Johnny didn’t ask many questions, but he took a copious amount of notes. His eyebrows furrowed together in concentration and the crease between them got deeper and deeper as the tour went on.

Doyoung finally finishes showing him around. “So, what’s the damage?”

“I’m not going to lie, this is pretty significant damage Doyoung.” Johnny looked worried.That wasn’t a good sign.

“I know, but this needs to get done. How big of a dent is my savings account about to take?” Doyoung closed his eyes as if that would shield him from the answer.

“It’s going to be close to $15,000.” Johnny scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. He seemed guilty despite the fact that none of this was his fault. Doyoung had expected that number. Of course that is going to drain his account. He should probably look for a job soon.

“Ok.” Doyoung took a deep breath. “What would the time frame be?”

“It will take me between 5-6 weeks. I can give you a more accurate date once I get my crew here to dig deeper and see if there’s any additional hidden problems.”

“So you’re going to be sticking around for the next couple of months?” Doyoung tried to not seem too hopeful. If any good has come of this its that he will get to see a lot more of Johnny’s impossibly handsome face. 

“Did you want to interview more contractors?” Johnny suggested. “Get a second opinion and see if someone else has a better price.”

“No, I like you…” Doyoung regretted the words as soon as they left his lips. He mentally face palmed and then followed up with, “For the job, I mean.”

“Not to brag or anything but you made a great choice. Or at least Yuta made a great choice for you.” Johnny’s eyes twinkled and Doyoung was in deep shit. “I can definitely restore this house to its former glory for your parents.”

Doyoung only slightly wished that Johnny had wanted to do it for him, but maybe he can change his mind in the upcoming months. “Yeah I’m sure they’ll appreciate seeing it not look so…”

“Overgrown?” Johnny supplied.

“I was going to say ‘trash’ but I guess that works too.” Doyoung wasn’t one to sugar coat anything. This house was a piece of crap just waiting for Johnny to give it some TLC. Doyoung knows what else Johnny could give…

He was snapped out of his daydream when Johnny said “Do you mind if I stick around here a bit longer? I want to take some measurements and take more notes.”

“Of course not, you can stay as long as you want.” Forever even if Doyoung had a say in it. He then mentally told himself to snap out of it. He had just gotten divorced and he shouldn’t jump on the first attractive, eligible man he sees. Then Doyoung realized he had no idea if Johnny was seeing someone or not. Someone with those arms didn’t stay single for long.

“Ok, I’ll draw up some plans, so we’ll make an appointment for you to stop by my office sometime later this week.”

Doyoung watched as Johnny fiddled around the front area of the porch, taking very precise notes and bending over a lot. After some very discreet once overs Doyoung realized he couldn’t be trusted to watch over him. He had a lot of plans anyways. Most importantly was to kill Yuta who definitely didn’t warn him this was going to happen.

//

“Did you like your surprise?” Yuta laughed over dinner later that night.

“No I most certainly did not, Nakamoto.” Doyoung huffed. “You couldn’t have warned me at all? I looked like a damn fool out there.”

“Now what’s the fun in that?” The laughter hadn’t stopped since Doyoung had broken into their house and physically attacked Yuta during his nap on the couch. “Oh man I’m glad you’re back Doie. It was getting boring here without you.”

“I don’t think it can ever get boring with Yuta around, but I did miss you a lot Doyoung and am glad you’re back as well.” Taeyong smiled from across the table. Doyoung returned the sentiment ten fold. Especially since Taeyong made him a feast for his return.

“So when did that all happen anyways?” Doyoung gestured to the air.

“When did what happen?” Taeyong asked while trying to hide a small smirk that was trying to hide the fact he knew exactly what Doyoung was asking about. Yuta was rubbing off on him.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about Tae.” Doyoung rolled his eyes in response.

“Oh are you talking about how Johnny got hot and is now looking like he came straight out of Doyoung’s dream journal?” Yuta chimed in. 

“I wasn’t going to phrase it that way.” He muttered. Although that was certainly what he was talking about. However, Yuta and Taeyong could pry that information from his cold dead corpse before he admits anything.

“Well I think it’s a good thing for you Doie.” Taeyong reached over the table and grabbed Doyoung’s hand in his. “It’s been nine months since you separated and almost three since the divorce was finalized. I think it’s a great thing that you’re having feelings for someone new.’

“It’s not feelings. I just think he looks better than he did it high school that’s all” Doyoung shook his head. “We’ve had one conversation and it was all business."

“Yeah monkey business.”Yuta high fived his husband while looking overly smug. 

“Why did I come over here again? Oh yeah, to murder Yuta.” Doyoung practically growled. It had no effect on the older man who just laughed instead.

“No, you came over to get advice on how you should proceed.” Taeyong gave his hand one last squeeze before letting go. “I think you should have an open mind and let whatever happens happen.”

“We just want to see you happy Doie.” A rare serious note from Yuta. “You know I’m just fucking with you right? If you want me to stop I will.”

“Nah I missed arguing with someone. No one does it like you.” It would be too weird if Yuta completely changed their dynamic anyways.

“Ok good because I that would have been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Especially since I’ll have a front row seat to the Doyoung Johnny show”

“You have to keep me updated babe.” Taeyong nudged his husband. “Keep me amused at work.”

“Jokes on you, I’m going to his office tomorrow.” At least that’s one less thing he has to worry about. “And before you ask Yuta no you can’t come.”   
  
“Booo! Tae make him take me with!” Yuta pouted while Taeyong stood firm stating that Doyoung was an adult and entitled to make his own decisions.

Watching some of his best friends laughing across from him made Doyoung absolutely sure for the first time in awhile that moving back home was the right decision. Regardless of if anything happened with Johnny, he was going to enjoy being back here. 

//

Doyoung definitely didn’t dress up to go to the appointment with Johnny. That would be what a crazy person would do. This was just a professional look because he was technically Johnny’s boss. That makes this a work meeting and what kind of slob doesn’t look halfway decent at work. Yes, that was totally convincing to Doyoung’s subconscious.

Doyoung arrived ten minutes early and paced outside the door for the next five. He then took a deep breath and entered inside the building. He walked as confidently as he could up to the receptionist desk.

“Hi I have a 2 o’clock appointment with Johnny Seo. My name is…”

“Doyoung? Oh my goodness it’s been forever.” Doyoung squinted across the desk and to his surprise recognized the face almost immediately even though he hadn’t seen him in years.

“Jungwoo what a pleasant surprise!” Doyoung laughed. He used to tutor him back in high school and he was his brightest student by far. “ I didn’t know you worked here.”

“Oh yeah, Johnny gave me this job while I was in college and I loved it so much I haven’t left yet.” Jungwoo’s smile was contagious and all of Doyoung’s previous nerves dissipated.

“We should catch up sometime. I did promise to buy you a drink when you turned legal. It’s about time you come to collect.” Doyoung was excited to see more familiar faces. He had been slightly worried Taeyong and Yuta would be his only company and he was doomed for a life of always being the third wheel.

“I would love that.” Jungwoo got up from his seat and jogged around the desk to pull Doyoung into a bone crushing hug. Doyoung returned it with fervor. “Our whole team actually goes out every Friday. You absolutely need to come with!”

“Oh um yeah that would be nice.” Doyoung isn’t sure he should commit to going to drink around Johnny without a babysitter. He sometimes turns a little bit feral and doesn’t need to scare away the person in charge of making his home livable. 

“Oh sorry I’m going to make you late for your meeting.” Jungwoo hurried back around the desk and put back on his professional face. “Johnny’s office is the second door on the right. He should already be in there.”

“Thanks Jungwoo.” Doyoung’s nerves were starting to return so he power walked down the hallway as to not lose them completely before he got to his destination. He rapped three times on the door and awaited an answer.

“Come in!” Johnny’s voice boomed from inside. Doyoung stuck his head inside and saw Johnny quickly trying to clean up the mess of papers on his desk. “Hey Doyoung, grab a seat anywhere.”

“Thank you.” Doyoung chose the seat directly in front of Johnny’s and clasped his fingers together. He was going to fidget otherwise and was trying to at least appear as if he had it all together.

“Sorry, I’m not usually this disorganized.” Johnny looked sheepish. He also looked like he was lying so Doyoung raised his eyebrow back at him. “Ok, maybe it does usually look like this but usually I’m better at hiding it when I have a meeting.”

“That’s ok, I don’t mind it.” Doyoung was a bit particular about his own space but he never expected others to follow it as well. Especially in their own office.

“Hmm, I distinctly remember you in High School yelling at me for my desk in Chemistry looking like a disaster.” Doyoung looked up at Johnny, eyes wide worried that he had wronged him in some way 10 years ago. Luckily, Johnny was teasing him with a slight smile on his face. It was cute.

Doyoung blushed. “That was different! We were working with bunsen burners and chemicals and something could have caught on fire.”

“I know Doyoung, I’m just teasing you.” Johnny laughed. “However I do have another meeting after this and I want to make sure we go over everything we need to.”

“Yes absolutely.” Doyoung could definitely be professional. Yuta always says that it’s his middle name. “I know we have some documents to sign as well.”

“Yes I took the liberty of having a contract drawn up. I think my initial analysis of the house was pretty spot on so it should still be $15,000 and probably closer to 6 weeks to finish. I listed out everything that is going to need to be done, a timeline for it, as well as all the workers on my team who will be working with me. Please take you time looking over it to make sure it’s to your specifications.”

“Thank you. Do you mind if I take a copy home with me?” Doyoung had worked as an accountant in the past and had seen his share of contracts. Far too many in fact.

“Of course. I’ll have Jungwoo make a copy and as long as everything looks good we can start working as early as Monday.” Johnny stood up and held out his hand. Doyoung quickly wiped off his hands on his jeans and shook it. He was certainly not going to allow himself to shake Johnny’s hand when his was all sweaty. 

“Thanks Johnny, I’ll have this back to you and signed in the morning.” Doyoung gave him a grateful smile and closed the door on the way out. After stopping by and grabbing the papers from Jungwoo and promising to join for a future Friday night hangout, he headed back home.

He couldn’t wait for Monday.

//

Like all things that you are excited for, Monday took forever to arrive. Doyoung had poured over the contract and memorized the whole thing. He dropped off a signed copy as well as his extra set of keys to the office the next day. He also purchased enough food to feed Johnny and his associates for the whole week. It’s the least he could do when they were helping him out.

Once Monday finally arrives, he wakes up with a general sense of foreboding settling deep in his stomach. He wasn’t sure if he was nervous or excited, but it didn’t seem like it was going to go away soon. The frightening thought of being caught red handed still in his pajamas was the boost he needed to get ready for the morning.

Johnny didn’t mention what time they were going to start construction so Doyoung began busying himself around the house to distract himself. After organizing all of his toiletries in the bathroom and making a mediocre sandwich he finally hears voices coming from the front of the house.

Doyoung ran to the window and saw men in tool belts. He took a second to smooth down his hair which had all flopped to one side anytime he exerts even minimal amount of exercise. He took a deep breath and opened up the front door and then proceeded to step out onto the porch. Unfortunately he forgot the state it was in so his foot ended up going straight through the wood. 

That didn’t immediately alarm the others to his presence but his accidental screams in protest certainly did. “Oh fuck me.” He groaned.

Looking up he saw the three men in the front lawn all staring straight back at him, their mouths agape. 

“Are you ok?” Jaehyun, who used to be on the debate team with him, asked. It was the first time he had seen him since high school and of course this was the first impression he had of him.

“Yup! Totally fine. I’m…I’m just going to go around.” Doyoung retracted his foot from under his front porch and quickly closed the door. He sprinted to the side door and paused in front of it. He quietly banged his forehead against it as a punishment for embarrassing himself before going out to join everyone on the front lawn.

To his surprise he recognized everyone on the lawn. Johnny must have hired his entire friend group from high school to work for him. Besides Jaehyun there was also Taeil, who was his choir mentor and Mark, who wasn’t in any clubs with him but was still memorable nonetheless.

“Hi everyone.” Doyoung tried to pretend that he didn’t know what embarrassment was. If they weren’t going to bring up the incident, he definitely wouldn’t either. “It’s been a long time. I didn’t know you guys worked for Johnny.”

“Hi Doyoung.” Mark gave him a friendly smile, still sporting his signature baby face. “Are you sure you’re ok? Your entire foot just disappeared.”

Before he could answer Johnny pulled up in his truck and joined the others. He was wearing jeans and an illegally tight t-shirt. It rendered Doyoung speechless for a moment. “Hey guys, hi Doyoung. Did I miss anything?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened at all. Very uneventful first day.” Doyoung rushed to reassure him. 

Unfortunately the denial wasn’t enough to stop Taeil from saying, “Doyoung fell through his front porch.”

Doyoung tried to laugh it off but it sounded off to his own ears as well. Taeil looked at him innocently, before smirking. So he did still hold a grudge from that one time Doyoung beat him out for a solo. Good to know. Johnny looked concerned though.

“Are you ok Doyoung?” His eyebrows furrowed and it made him look mysterious and brooding which wasn’t a look that Doyoung was used to seeing on Johnny’s face. “I’ll make sure to put construction tape around anywhere that’s unsafe so that this doesn’t happen again.”

“It was my own fault, and I’m fine.” Doyoung brushed it off. He would rather not be reminded of this incident every time he saw anything taped up.

“Be careful.” Johnny was back to smiling and it was infectious. “We can’t have our favorite client getting injured on our watch.”

It was enough to make him blush but that stopped as soon as Mark chimed in “That’s because you’re our only client right now.”

“Thanks so much for doing this everyone. My parents left it a mess and I’m just glad that we can restore it back to its former glory and make it livable again. Umm I have drinks and snacks in the kitchen so please take whatever you want. It’s going to be hot today so make sure you take breaks.” Doyoung didn’t really know what to say. He never had to hire someone in this capacity before.

“We couldn’t possibly take your food Doyoung.” Johnny protested.

“I bought way too much anyways! I don’t know how to buy groceries for just one person. You would really be doing me a favor.” He admitted. That was true but he was definitely also thinking of Johnny when he went shopping and what he would like.

None of the crew said anything else so Doyoung thought now was the time to get out of there. “I’ll be next door if anyone needs anything. You have my phone number, right Johnny?”

“Yeah, I have your number.” Johnny confirmed. “Today we won’t be doing much just a preliminary examination of the outside and maybe starting the demo of your porch. It shouldn’t be too loud if you need to stay inside.”

“I was planning of bothering Yuta anyways.” Doyoung didn’t want to seem like he was breathing down their necks. “Thanks again everyone!”

//

“You either need a job or a hobby,” Yuta forcibly told him a week later. Doyoung had kept the routine of meeting the construction crew in the morning and then camping out at Taeyong and Yuta’s all day long. Taeyong was at work all day, but Yuta worked from home so he had fun bothering him while the older man tried to write. It only took a week before Yuta threatened to kick him out.

“You would miss me too much.” Doyoung tried to play to his sensitive side that he was only marginally convinced Yuta had. “Just admit it, you’ve been bored without me.”

“I love you Doie, but if I can’t finish my manuscript before the end of this summer, my editor will literally kill me. His last email told me exactly how he would do it in excruciating detail and it was alarming. I’m not ready to be chopped into bits.”

“Isn’t Sicheng your editor?” Doyoung suddenly remembered.

“Yeah, so you know he would actually do it.” Yuta shivered at the thought.

“Can I at least read the email? I feel like it would do me a lot of good.” Doyoung laughed at his friend. 

“Yeah I’ll forward it to you. Someone should have a copy so when I turn up missing you can bring it as evidence to the police.”

“It wouldn’t do you any good.” Doyoung patted the top of his head. “There’s not a jury in the world that would convict Sicheng of any crime.”

“That’s probably true.” Yuta agreed. “Now stop being scared of your burgeoning feelings for Johnny and go bother the attractive men that keep coming in and out of your house. The Type A Doyoung I know wouldn’t let people make executive decisions about his home without being present.”

“Fine. You can kick me out, but you will not make me admit my inner turmoil. Also I just looked at my bank account so you were right about getting a job.” Doyoung hated admitting anyone was right, especially Yuta, but he was using his entire life savings to fix the trainwreck next door.

“I’ll see if anyone is hiring. Do you need a  _ job _ job or just something to tide you over?” Yuta questioned.

That was hard to answer. He wasn’t sure how long he would be back, or if he ever wanted to leave. It was kind of nice to see Yuta and Taeyong and be surrounded by the familiar. He used to be an accountant before the divorce but he didn’t have a real attachment to that job. That was made clear when he quit and didn’t feel any remorse. 

“For now just something to tide me over.” Doyoung decided. “When I stop quarter life crisis-ing I’ll actually decide.”

“So… never, then.” His friend challenged. 

“Oh shut up. You got want you wanted I’ll leave you alone. Now stop tormenting me.” Doyoung hurled the nearest object towards him, which lucky for Yuta was a pillow. He dodged it with grace and retaliated with a pillow of his own. 

As the all out pillow war started, Doyoung realized he was definitely going to miss seeing Yuta’s face everyday even if he would never admit it out loud.

//

Courtesy of Yuta, Doyoung did find a job in record time. It was at a winery that was about a 20 minute drive from his home. He got to help tourists taste test different wines and try to talk them into actually paying for some bottles.

“It’s perfect for your pretentious ass.” Yuta exclaimed. “You can put all your stupid wine knowledge to the test.”

“It does sound right up my alley.” Doyoung was surprised. He was expecting a barista job which he wasn’t looking forward to. This job actually sounded like it could be fun. 

“Do you remember Kun from high school? His family owns the winery and they are looking for someone right now. I’m sure they would hire you in a heartbeat.” 

True to Yuta’s assurance, The Qian family hired him on sight. When asked about his previous experience, Doyoung admitted that he didn’t have any experience selling wine, but he certainly had drank enough of it. That brought a laugh and before he knew it he was signing paperwork and being put into a training class where he had to learn about their entire fleet of wines.

His training meant that the next couple of weeks he wasn’t there to greet the construction workers at all. He told Johnny that he wouldn’t be around due to his new job and the elder seemed surprised.

“I didn’t know you were planning on sticking around long enough to get a job.” He remarked.

“Oh yeah. It was kind of a last minute decision. Someone has to pay for this house.” Doyoung laughed. 

Johnny frowned at that. “I just assumed your parents would be the ones paying.”

“Oh, no they gave it to me. They are now on permanent vacation and want nothing to do with this. I can’t really say I blame them.” And Doyoung didn’t blame them. They had given him a fresh start and he was forever grateful for it, even if it did come with a price tag.

“If the price ever gets too much, let me know and we can work out an alternative payment plan.” Johnny told him, a look of concern flashed over him.

Now that seemed appealing. Doyoung almost went straight into flirt mode and offered himself as the alternative payment plan but he knew Johnny didn’t mean it that way. “Thanks. I will let you know if that happens.”

That seemed to placate Johnny for the time being. Although he didn’t really have time to see him in the following weeks.

Wine class was probably the best thing to ever happen to Doyoung. Who knew that there was a job where you can get paid to drink wine and force tourists into handing over their money. He had subconsciously been training his whole life to this job and was great at it. Kun was also his trainer and it was nice to see him again and rekindle the quasi friendship that they had in high school.

Doyoung had a sweet setup. He got to stay inside in the air conditioning which was the most important part of any job for him. He spent his free time, which was plentiful, catching up on his reading and learning wine facts from the rest of the staff. His training weeks passed peacefully and Kun gave him the official Qian seal of approval. That meant he had a set schedule and got to supervise his house construction and work during the day and on weekends. It was shaping up to be the best job he’s ever had. Take that accounting!

The only downside to this job was that the wine tasting lounge, which was now Doyoung’s office was right next to the gift shop. That brought trouble in the form of one Lee Donghyuck. 

“Doyoooooung. Congrats on finally completing your training.” Donghyuck left his cash register unattended to come over to bother him. “This calls for a celebration. I think a toast is in order.”

“Absolutely not you heathen. I’m still not giving you any free wine.” Doyoung rolled his eyes. There wasn’t a day that went by that the younger hadn’t tried to steal from their stash.

“Ugh you’re no fun.” Donghyuck stuck out his tongue. “Can’t you loosen up. There’s so much wine. Nobody is going to notice if a bottle goes missing.”

“I’ll notice. I really need this job and I’m not about to get fired because of you, so can it you twerp.” 

“Boo. You’ll cave eventually. They always do.” Donghyuck had such confidence in that statement that Doyoung was slightly worried. “Why do you need this job so bad anyways? Are you also a broke bitch?”

“Something like that.” Doyoung muttered. No need to go over financials with a literal fetus. “My house is getting renovated and so my savings took a hit.”

“Oh my friend does that kind of thing.” Donghyuck’s eyes lit up. “He could probably help you out. He’s really really good.”

“That’s ok.” Doyoung laughed. The thought of Donghyuck 2.0 trying to renovate anything was a funny sight. “I already have someone working on it.”

“You’re missing out. He’s the best.” Donghyuck was insistent.

“Well if the professionals need any help, I’ll make sure to call your friend.” Doyoung reassured him before shoo-ing him back off the man the gift shop.

//

Doyoung woke up on his first day off in awhile feeling refreshed. He was going to see Johnny again today. He told himself that he wasn’t going to run off to Yuta’s and had found the perfect position in the living room to make him seem like he was doing work, but was really spying. 

He had already heard the commotion outside meaning that they had already arrived and work was starting. Doyoung made his way down to his kitchen to put on a pot of coffee before starting his day. He had just poured it in his favorite mug when he turned around to see one Johnny Seo in his doorway.

“Doyoung!” He sounded surprised. “You’re wearing a robe.”

This was pretty much his worst nightmare come to life. “I didn’t realize anyone was inside. I’m sorry I’ll put on clothes.”

“Oh it’s ok, I don’t mind.” Johnny had managed to say that in a not pervy way which was a task within itself. “It’s your day off. I usually stay in pajamas all day if I have nowhere to go.”

Doyoung’s traitorous brain pictured Johnny in pajamas for a second before quickly shaking that image out of his head. “Um, nonetheless I think I’d rather put on pants.”

“Oh of course.” Johnny stood aside so that Doyoung could get the hell out of dodge. He scurried up the stairs before slamming his bedroom door. There was a loud cracking noise and Doyoung feared to turn around and assess the damage.

The slam had knocked the door off its hinges and the top left hand corner was tilted. He quickly ran to the door and tried opening it. Seeing as his luck couldn’t get any worse, it didn’t budge. Great. Doyoung decided the only thing worse than having to tell Johnny that he broke his door and was trapped, was doing it while still being in his robe.

He took his time getting ready. There was really no rush. He had nowhere to be and utter and complete humiliation in front of hot people could wait. He was almost ready to take a nap when the decision making part of his brain finally forced him to call for help.

“Johnny?” Doyoung tentatively yelled down the stairs. Nothing happened. He tried again a bit louder. “Johnny?”

Of course he was probably already outside so all the yelling in the world wasn’t going to help. Maybe texting was the best solution.

Doyoung _ : _

_ So… I’m hypothetically stuck in my room and the door won’t open. Would you hypothetically be down for a rescue? If you’re not too busy. _

Contractor Extradinoare 😏🔨💦:

_ Hmmm sounds suspiciously not hypothetical at all. I guess I’ll take your word for it though. Hypothetically I’m leaving immediately and coming to your rescue. _

Doyoung smiled as he read the text and then groaned at the fact he needed to be rescued from his own childhood home again. First putting his foot through his front porch and now slamming the door so hard it refuses to let him out. He might be cursed. Doyoung blames Donghyuck who had threatened to curse him on more than one occasion, even though he didn’t even know him before the first incident. 

“Knock knock.” Johnny said from the other side of the door. 

“Who's there.” Doyoung joked back. 

“Yeah you really did some damage here Doyoung.” Johnny whistled. “I brought up my tool box and I’ll get you out of there asap.”

“Thanks Johnny. I guess I don’t know my own strength. Sorry to make even more work for you.” He replied sincerely.

“It’s not a problem at all. If it broke that easily then it needed to be fixed in the first place. One less thing for us to do later.” With that Johnny lifted the door completely off the hinges and effectively rescued Doyoung from his bedroom.

“My hero.” Doyoung smiled trying to play it off as a joke.

“I hope you don’t need rescuing too often. But you know who to call if you do.” And Doyoung certainly did.

//

“Alright what did you do to me.” Doyoung marched into the gift shop and gave Donghyuck his most menacing glare.

“What are you even talking about?” Donghyuck actually looked confused. It was a welcome change from smug.

“This whole week I’ve been a walking disaster. I lost my keys twice, got locked out of my car, got locked in my bedroom and that’s only the half of it. What kind of curse did you put on me?” Doyoung didn’t really believe that he cursed him but having someone to blame always made things better.

“Woah it’s a little too early to get drunk and spew nonsense. If I put a curse on you then you would definitely know it. It wouldn’t be this petty crap either.” Donghyuck seemed more offended about the scale of the crimes then being accused of them.

“Ugh fine but I still don’t trust you.” Doyoung glared over the cash register and got an eye roll in return.

“I was going to say before you got all angry is that I can cleanse you if you want.” 

“Cleanse me? That doesn’t sound suspicious at all.” The younger let out an even more exaggerated eye roll. Doyoung wasn’t impressed either.

“Your aura is clearly troubled. You are radiating bad vibes and your energy is manic. I keep some sage in my car for moments exactly like these. Let me come over after work and I’ll perform the ritual” Donghyuck replied in a remarkably serious tone for the words that were spilling out of his mouth.

“Fine.” Doyoung relented before starting to retreat back behind his tasting counter. “But only because I’m just that desperate.”

“You owe me.” Hyuck shouted after him. “How about starting with cracking open a bottle…”

“In your dreams!” Doyoung shouted back.

The rest of the day went remarkably smooth. Doyoung upsold a whole tour group to the deluxe package which was twice the price and one of the ladies even gave him a very generous tip. Kun gave him an impressed smile before herding the group to enjoy the wine out in the vineyards. The day was going so well that he didn’t even mind having to spend time with Donghyuck outside of work.

The had both driven to work so Doyoung quickly sent Hyuck his address and raced home to not make the other wait on him. It was good that he did because even though leaving significantly after him, Donghyuck pulled up right behind him in front of his house. The kid must not obey any traffic laws.

Doyoung was about to scold him for being reckless but just as he opened his mouth he heard a surprised “Hyuckie?” come from his front yard.

“Johnny!” Donghyuck yelled and ran into the older’s awaiting arms. 

“What are you doing here kiddo?” Johnny laughed while he picked up Hyuck and twirled him around. Doyoung was definitely not jealous at all.

“I’m here to cleanse Doyoung’s spirit. Apparently he’s a magnet for bad luck.” Donghyuck said very seriously.

“Ah I can attest to that.” Johnny nodded. “Although I think your bad luck can be attributed to a decaying foundation and shoddy craftsmanship.”

Doyoung winced. “That bad huh?”

“Yeah I actually have been needing to talk to you about that.”

“And my streak of rotten luck continues.” Doyoung groaned. “Come find me after you’re done.”

After that Donghyuck practically dragged him towards the side entrance. “I told you that I had a friend that fixed houses.”

“Yeah I thought you meant someone your age.” Doyoung scoffed. “How do you even know Johnny?”

“Our moms are friends. He used to babysit me when I was younger. Now we’re just really good friends though.” Donghyuck looked smug. He probably picked up on the tension that Doyoung felt and was going to use it for blackmail purposes until one of them dies.

“I think you could still use a babysitter you brat.” Doyoung nudged him lightly. 

Unfortunately at that same time someone was walking past and Donghyuck ended up knocking into him. 

“My bad.” Hyuck started before narrowing his eyes after getting a good look at the victim. “Oh never mind it’s just Mark.”

“What are you doing here?” Mark replied with just as much destain. “Do we need to have another conversation about stalking Hyuck?”

“As if I would ever voluntarily be near you.” The younger spat back. “I’m just here because of Doyoung.”

“Yeah we’ll be going inside now.” Doyoung grabbed the boy and started pushing him towards the door before a blood bath started. “Nice to see you again Mark.”

“At least someone wants to see your face.” Donghyuck shouted behind him before he was physically pushed inside the house.

“What was that about?” Doyoung confronted him as soon as they were in private. 

“Mark is my mortal enemy.” 

“I thought I was your mortal enemy?” It certainly seemed that way most days.

“No you’re the person I like making fun of the most. I just… really dislike Mark.” Donghyuck replied. The blush on his face called bullshit and so did Doyoung.

“No you don’t. My guess is this is how you flirt. How long have you had a crush on him?”

“Since forever.” Donghyuck relented. “He hates me though.”

“Maybe don’t make fun of him every time you see him.” Doyoung tried to give the kid some advice. Besides they would make an overbearingly cute couple. 

“As if you can talk.” Hyuck laughed before going into a horrible impression of him “Come find me Johnny. You’ll find me putting myself in dangerous situations so that you can save me.”

“My voice is not that high.” Doyoung resented that. “At least I didn’t low key call my crush ugly.”

“Aha so you do admit you have a crush on Johnny.” The smug look was back on his face.

“Ugh fine you win. So I think Johnny is good looking and maybe super nice. But I barely know him still.” It was the first time Doyoung admitted out loud that he had caught small feelings for the giant.

“I can help you!” Donghyuck’s eyes lit up. “He loves me. I’m like a little brother to him.”

Doyoung was very wary about what kind of help Donghyuck would provide. “Why would you help me?”

“I’m not doing it for free.” He rolled his eyes for the millionth time that day. “You have to help me with Mark. Just invite me over sometimes, preferably when it’s super hot out so I can see him half naked and sweaty.”

Doyoung took a second to think it over before extending his hand out to seal the promise. “Fine we help each other out.”

Hyuck eagerly grabbed his hand giving it a tight squeeze. “Yes a new partner in crime! But I do seriously think you’re cursed. Now go to the room that faces directly NorthWest and rub this crystal. I’ll do the rest.”

//

Two hours later Doyoung was declared officially cleansed, at least by Donghyuck’s standards. The younger was surprisingly serious about the whole ordeal. It was nice and slightly off putting to see. The two ended up making tea after and chilling in the kitchen until the boys were done for the day. Doyoung decided he really liked Donghyuck when he wasn’t trying to steal wine from him.

“Hey Doyoung we just finished up.” Johnny poked his head in. “Are you still down to talk a little bit about house updates?”

“Of course. Now would be a great time.”

  
“Actually Doyoung was just saying he was super hungry. Maybe you should take him to dinner to discuss it?” Donghyuck chimed in.

Doyoung gave him a swift kick under the table.”Oh that’s not necessary. I don’t want to trouble you.”

“No I think that’s a great idea Hyuckie.” Johnny leaned over and ruffled Donghyuck’s hair. “I promised Mark I would bring him home first if that’s ok.”

Mark was leaning against the doorway and avoiding all eye contact. 

“Actually I’m headed up that way, I can bring Mark home if he doesn’t mind.” Donghyuck put on a completely angelic face.

“Oh hell no. You almost killed us last time.” Mark looked actually fearful for his life.

“Chill it’s been five years. I’m a much better driver now. I even have my drivers license now.” Hyuck got up and grabbed Mark by the arm. “We’ll be headed out now. Thanks for having me over Doie.”

“I should probably be worried about that, shouldn’t I?” Johnny said laughing. Clearly not worried at all.

“What Donghyuck wants, Donghyuck gets.” Doyoung sighed. However now he was going on a not date with Johnny and he really has his coworker to thank for it.

“Shall we head out? I’m dressed like this so we can’t go anywhere nice.” Johnny gestured to his attire giving Doyoung a chance to ogle him without seeming weird.

“I think you look really nice.” He blurted out.

Johnny laughed at that. “Thanks but I think they would kick me out of anywhere that doesn’t have paper napkins. Wanna just grab some burgers?”

Doyoung agreed and they found themselves at the same diner that Yuta had given him Johnny’s number at.

Johnny made small talk until their food came, but clearly had an agenda for the meal.

“Just give it to me straight.” Doyoung prepared himself for the worst. “How bad is it?”

“Well the outside was about what I expected, but we did find some significant structural damage underneath the house. When the house was originally built they spaced the beams too far apart causing the house to sag a little bit. We can fix it, but it will take an extra week or so.” Johnny apologized as if he was the original architect.

“And the price?” Doyoung winced. Structural damage sound expensive.

“Well I budgeted for extra surprises, especially given the time frame that the house was built in. They used to cut a lot of corners 100 years ago.” Johnny continued. “That damage will all come in at around budget, however the problem is your floors.”

“What about my floors?” 

“Well we found mold underneath the floorboards on the first floor causing the floor to start rotting. Unfortunately the damage is so significant that we will need to pull up your entire first floor and put in new hardwood.”

“Oh god. That sounds bad. That’s bad right?” Of course it’s bad Doyoung mentally scolded his mouth. “Give it to me doctor. What’s the damage.”

“About $2500.” Johnny was giving him another sympathetic look and Doyoung’s heart dropped. That was a lot of money for someone who just drained their savings account.

“Oh.” Was all he could say.

“You’re not just some random client Doyoung. I consider you my friend so we can definitely work something out so that we can get this done.” Johnny reached across the table and quickly squeezed his hand. “I won’t be able to spare my entire crew but I can come over on my off day to work on this and that would probably cut down some of the costs. There are also a lot of cheaper hardwoods that look just as good as the expensive stuff and hold up well. I’ll do everything I can to see if I can bring that number down.”

“Thank you.” Doyoung gulped. “Is there anything I can help with? I’m a fast learner.”

“I could probably use your help with it if you don’t mind. That will definitely make the job go by faster.” Johnny smiled. “But I did have woodshop with you. This wasn’t your forte back then.”

God was everyone in that class with him? Doyoung blushed. “I think you will probably be a better teacher than Mr. Kwon.”

“Yeah I think anyone on earth would be a better teacher than him.” Johnny laughed.

“Thank you so much for everything Johnny.” Doyoung sincerely replied. “You’re a really good friend.”

“It’s my job.” His smile was blinding Doyoung. “Oh before I forget, Jungwoo wanted me to invite you out with us this Friday. He says that he won’t take no for an answer.”

“Yeah that sounds fun.” Doyoung was screwed. Maybe if he doesn’t drink a lot then he could keep his cool around Johnny. “Have Jungwoo text me the details, I would love to come.”

He spent the rest of the dinner with a faint blush on his cheeks as Johnny continued to be the most charming individual ever. He couldn’t wait to spend more time with him.

//

“What do people wear to a casual hangout with people that they used to know in high school but also if they want to specifically date one of them?” Doyoung burst into the house next door after work on Friday. “It can’t seem like I’m trying too hard either.”

Yuta looked up from his magazine, completely unsurprised by the unannounced visit. “Taeyong! Doyoung needs your fashion expertise.” He shouted into the other room.

“Finally!” Taeyong came practically running into the room. “It’s makeover time.”

“Nothing drastic!” Doyoung warned. “I just need a casual outfit that makes me look so hot that Johnny immediately asks to date me on the spot.”

“I have just the thing.” Taeyong squealed and dragged Doyoung towards his closet and started throwing things at him.

“I’m not going to be there for a week Tae.”

“Options!” He yelled from his closet. “That’s the key to looking hot. Try on everything.”

Twenty minutes later Doyoung found himself in a black turtleneck, ripped jeans and a belt that had him choking when Taeyong mentioned the price. 

“It’s summer.” He lamented. “I’m going to die in this.”   
  
“No Johnny is going to die seeing you in that.” Yuta added. “Fashion is pain.”

“Thanks guys. Now how do I act like a normal human being?” 

“Don’t ask me.” Yuta shrugged. “Never been one and don’t plan on it.”

“Just be yourself.” The school teacher that took over Taeyong’s body said.

“Ok thanks guys. If you get a call from me, please answer it. I could need you to come and stop me from making the worst decision of my life.” Doyoung warned them.

The bus ride to the bar went by way too quick for his liking. All too soon he was standing outside, his nervous energy vibrating throughout his body. He gave himself a mental pep talk before walking through the doors.

The bar wasn’t overly crowded or noisy much to Doyoung’s relief. There was ample seating and no dance floor so that was one worry that was knocked off his list. He glanced around to see if he recognized anyone but they found him first.

“Doyoung over here!” Jungwoo shouted from the back corner. He was waving both his hands frantically and beckoning him over. Doyoung let out a shaky breath and made his way over to the table. Jungwoo gave him a hug that a boa constrictor would have been proud of. “I'm so glad you made it.”

“Good to see you too Jungwoo.” Doyoung laughed at how excited he was. He glanced around the table to see a lot of familiar faces. Unfortunately the one he wanted to see the most wasn’t there.

“Come I’ll buy you a drink.” Jungwoo dragged him to the bar area and tried to pay for him.

“There’s no way I’m going to let a former student pay for my drink.” Doyoung strongly protested. “If anything I owe you a drink. Consider it a belated  _ congrats on turning legal _ drink.”

“Thanks Doie but I’ve been legal for awhile.” Jungwoo giggled. “So don’t mention my age, I don’t need anyone here thinking I’m jailbait.” 

“I know it’s been awhile. I just missed out a lot while I was in the city.” And he truly did. It seems like each day he’s finding a new reason to stay in this town. Maybe never looking back after high school was a mistake.

“Well I for one am glad you’re back. And I’m definitely not the only one.” Jungwoo trailed off mysteriously. “I know everyone in the office has been excited to help out on your house.”

“Yeah everyone has been really nice. I know it’s going to take longer than they thought but everyone has been so accommodating. Johnny is even going to come over on his off days to help get the place done.”

“Hmm is he now?” Jungwoo looked smug. They finally got their drinks and started to head back towards the rest of the group. “That is very accommodating of him.”   
“Yeah I don’t know what I would have done without him.” Doyoung then realized how that sounded and tried to fix it. “Without his whole team I mean.”   
  
“Naturally his whole team. I get it Doyoung.” He then winked and proceeded to almost sit directly in Jaehyun’s lap. “Move over a little bit. I’m going to fall off.”

Doyoung stood awkwardly, not knowing where to sit. Jungwoo would have been the obvious choice, but he had virtually no room between him and Jaehyun. Squished into the booth alongside them was Mark, Taeil, Ten and Sicheng. He was about to bargain with Sicheng to move over using their mutual disdain of Yuta but before he could he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” 

He whipped around and saw Johnny rocking a leather jacket coming towards them. Well that was a sight to behold. Doyoung gulped down half his drink because the alternative was to leer and he didn’t want to be creepy. The man was attractive. He was so used to seeing him in casual gear that this nearly knocked him off his feet. 

“Doyoung, I’m glad you can make it.” Johnny smiled at him and gave him a side hug. Doyoung resisted burrowing his head into his shoulder and staying there forever.

“Man there really isn’t a booth that will fit all of us.” Jungwoo pouted. “Johnny and Doyoung you can sit at the table right next to us.”

“Oh you can sit with your friends if you want.” Doyoung shook his hands, not wanting to cause any trouble, his drink sloshing back and forth but luckily stayed within his glass. He gave a quick glance at Jungwoo who was definitely plotting something.

“I can’t leave you alone Doyoung. Let me go get a beer and I’ll be right back.” Johnny sauntered over to the bar and Doyoung watched him go. He then whipped his head back towards Jungwoo, panic in his eyes.

The younger stood up and whispered in his ear, “This is your chance now Doie. I know you’ve been crushing so just be yourself and call me over if you need help.”

Not a second later he was back in Jaehyun’s lap, who still hadn’t said anything against it. Doyoung grabbed a seat at the table adjacent to them and tried not to freak out. He sipped at his drink which was almost gone before Johnny even sat down. 

“I’m back.” Johnny sounded chipper and was carrying two drinks, one of which he plopped down in front of Doyoung.

“Oh you didn’t have to. Thank you so much.” 

“Maybe I’m just trying to get you drunk.” Johnny laughed and it was glorious. “I realized we’ve never drank together so I’m interested in what kind of drunk you are.”

“Clingy.” Doyoung admits. “Just push me off you if I get too much.”

“Nah I’m a skinship guy myself. I don’t mind hugs at all.” That made Doyoung’s brain spin.

“I’ll… keep that in mind them.” Doyoung desperately wanted to change the topic.”Now what kind of a drunk is Johnny Seo?”

“Hmm my friends tell me I get really boring.” Johnny shrugged and took a sip of his beer before continuing. “I tend to go on about whatever podcast or documentary I’ve seen most recently. I get… very passionate about them apparently.”

“I love documentaries.” Doyoung perked up. “So you can do your worst.”

“It sounds like we’re the perfect people to drink together. I love affection and you love to be bombarded with useless information.”

“I guess we should do this more often then.” Was this considered flirting? Doyoung wasn’t sure but seeing as it was going well then it probably wasn’t.

“So, can I ask you something a little bit personal.” Johnny leaned forward, his eyebrows narrowed in concentration.

“Um sure, go ahead.” Doyoung’s heart was pounding out of his chest.

“Why did your parents leave you in charge of renovating their house?” 

He had been waiting for this question. He had skirted over the answer before, talking in half truths. He still wasn’t sure that he wanted to talk about his divorce, but Johnny at least deserved the part of the story he didn’t mind divulging.

“My parents have been wanting to sell it for awhile. They couldn’t take the winters up here any longer and were planning on moving. They found a great place in the sun so they decided to buy it and cut all ties to this place.”

Doyoung took another long sip of his drink, trying to collect his thoughts. “They were just planning on selling it, but I was in a really weird place in my life and they decided that I needed a project so they gave me this house. I had just quit my job so it seemed like a good time to move back and take care of it.”

“Were you planning on just coming to fix it up and then sell it again?” Johnny inquired. His beer was almost done, but he was still paying full attention to Doyoung’s story.

“Well I didn’t even know that it was in bad condition. I haven’t been the best son so I haven’t been back in years. Somewhere during that time they completely stopped taking care of it. It looks like a completely different house than the last time I’ve seen it.”

“They didn’t even tell you that it needed an overhaul?” Johnny frowned. It made him look even more endearing.

“Oh they did, but they severely undersold the damage.” Doyoung shuddered remembering the first time he laid eyes on his childhood home since he became the owner. “I was certainly surprised.”

“That’s surprisingly shitty of them.” Johnny’s frown was still present, clearly worried for Doyoung.

“No they knew I needed a change and I would have backed off if I knew it was going to be so much work. They did it for my own good.” Doyoung reassured Johnny. “Plus despite the money situation, I’ve really been enjoying being back. I really like my new job and it’s been nice to see everyone from high school again. Especially seeing Yuta and Taeyong again. They’ve been keeping me sane through this whole ordeal.”

“Hmmm so you’re just excited about seeing Yuta and Taeyong again. No one else from high school is as memorable? No one else sings a bell?” Johnny teased, his hand over his heart in a look that can only be determined as fake hurt.

“I don’t know, do you have someone in mind?” Doyoung leaned forward and set his elbow on the table, smiling at the man across from him.

“I’ve heard the local contactors are very friendly. 10 out of 10. Would let them reno my house again.” Johnny also leaned in, surprising Doyoung with the proximity. 

“Well you’ll have to introduce me to them then. If they’re as friendly as you say they are, I would be very intrigued to meet them.” Ok so this was definitely flirting. At least on Doyoung’s end it was. Was Johnny flirting back? Was this a thing now?

“Oh how you wound me Kim.” Johnny now had both his hands over his heart, doubled over in mock pain. “I might never recover from this.”

“I hear beer does the trick. How about I buy the next round?” Doyoung stood up. “The only thing I ask for is your forgiveness if return.”

“I guess I’ll forgive you then.” Johnny returned upright, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “A beer is just the way to my heart.”

“I’ll have to remember that.” Doyoung smiled before walking over to buy the next round. His heart was pounding at a dangerous rate. He knew that if he didn’t have liquid courage then that conversation wouldn’t have happened. So he should take advantage of it while it’s still coursing through his veins.

Two drinks later Johnny was now sitting directly next to him and doing a spot on impression of their old principal that had Doyoung in stitches. 

“Students. Ehem Ehem stuuuuudents.” Johnny mocked pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “If I eeeever find who graffitied the school buses thereee will be heck to pay.”

Doyoung was laughing so hard that he kept throwing back his head and slapping his knee. It had been a long time since he laughed this hard. “You know there was a rumor that it was Yuta. He got called into the principal’s office about it and everything. It wasn’t him though.” He leaned forward in his chair and whispered, “I was his alibi.”

Johnny laughed and leaned in and then also whispered, “I know it wasn’t him.”

Doyoung’s eyes got round. “Johnny Seo you didn’t!”

“Oh I did. Are you disappointed in me? I was a high school delinquent.” 

Disappointed wasn’t the word. Turned on might be though. “Not at all. Who knew you had a wild side?” 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me Doyoung.” But oh did he want to find out. 

He had practically wrapped both his arms around Johnny’s bicep. “I’ll look forward to learning about the real Johnny then.”

Two more beers and Doyoung was gone. He hadn’t removed himself from Johnny’s side once and had a great time reminiscing about the good old days. He barely flinched when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“I think we’re going to head out.” Jaehyun, who had his own leech in the form of Jungwoo attached to him.

“Doyoung I just want to tell you I love you so much and I’m so glad you came out tonight. I literally missed you so much while you were gone. You’re my best friend and I just need to tell you how much I love you.” Jungwoo cried to him, clearly as far gone as Doyoung was.

“I love you too Jungwoo. It seems like just yesterday I was tutoring you in math and you had braces. You were so cute.” Doyoung started tearing up alongside him before hugging his old mentee.

“Ok that’s enough of this.” Jaehyung forcefully removed and unwrapped Jungwoo from him. “If you leave I’ll buy you an ice cream.”

“You promise?” Jungwoo turned his puppy dog eyes towards his friend and Doyoung could physically see Jaehyun’s resolve disappearing.

“Of course, let’s go.” He dragged Jungwoo towards the exit, as the younger waved goodbye to the rest of the bar.

Johnny took one look at Doyoung, who still had tears in his eyes over Jungwoo’s drunken heart to heart. “I think it’s time that we get you home as well.”

“I can get myself home.” Doyoung hiccuped.

“It’s ok. This way we can split the Uber fare.” Johnny patted the top of his head and Doyoung nuzzled into his hand. It felt good to be this touchy with someone. He hadn’t been like this with anyone since his divorce.

Johnny true to his word got them an Uber and had it drop off Doyoung first. Doyoung continued holding onto his arm until they arrived at his door. Johnny helped him open the door with his own set of keys. Only then did Doyoung release himself from Johnny’s side. 

“Sweet dreams Doie.” Johnny called while closing the door and running back to the Uber. They did turn out to be sweet, as one boy in particular kept showing up in them.

//

Doyoung had a half day at work for once. Kun had rented out the winery for a wedding and the party was going to take place all weekend. They brought their own bartenders so Doyoung wasn’t needed. He was contemplating what to do when he got a text from Yuta.

Yuta:

_ Check this out _

_ shirtlessjohnnypic.jpeg _

Doyoung:

_ Why would you have done this to me???? _

Yuta:

_ Because I was planning on sunbathing on my front lawn and figured you would want to join me _

Doyoung:

_ I don’t sunbathe _

_ Not with this complexion _

Yuta:

_ I think this view is compelling enough to make you change your mind… _

_ anothershirtlesspicoftheboys.jpeg _

Doyoung:

_ I’m on my way _

Yuta:

_ I can’t drink all these mojito’s by myself _

_ Actually I probably can _

_ Come before I drink them all _

Doyoung was about to race out the door before he decided to do his coworker a solid.

“Hey Donghyuck what are your plans for today?” He called into the gift shop.

“Eh not much.” Donghyuck shrugged. “Maybe go to the pool or something.”

“Want to come over? Yuta and I are going to sunbathe in his front lawn.” Doyoung laughed at the face Donghyuck made. “I mean you don’t have to, but I have some insider knowledge that the view is going to be one you won’t want to miss.”

It took Hyuck a second to comprehend before his eyes widened and he nodded furiously. “I will definitely hang out with you hags if it means that I get to see Mark at his finest.”

“Be careful brat. I can make this all go away.” Doyoung pretended to threaten. 

“Yeah right. I’ll show up whether you approve or not. Johnny would take my side.” 

“Fine but you’re on thin ice kid.” Doyoung threw his arm around Donghyuck’s neck, forcing him into a head lock and dragged him towards their cars. 

Traffic was light that time of day so it didn’t take long before he was standing on Yuta’s front lawn. His friend was already in swim trunks and sunglasses and reclining on a lawn chair. 

“You look comfortable.” Doyoung remarked.

“This is how life is meant to be lived. Getting a tan, day drinking and staring at hot shirtless guys.” Yuta sighed, face more content than he’s seen before. “If this is how the other half lives I’ve never been more motivated to make money.”

“I should send Sicheng a picture of you slacking off.” He threatened. Yuta lifted up his sunglasses just so Doyoung could witness his eye role.

“Do it bitch. Just sent in my rough draft yesterday. I can’t do anything else until the editors work their magic.” He then flipped his sunglasses back over his eyes and reclined back into his chair. “Stop being so uptight Doie. Mojitos are on the porch. Come join me.”

Doyoung relented and jogged up to the porch and poured himself a drink. Yuta’s cocktails are always a work of art and this was no different. He threw back a couple of sips and then topped himself off. It was too hot to stay in his work button down, but he wasn’t about to go completely shirtless. He shed his top layer, but kept his sleeveless undershirt on and headed back to join his friend. 

“I accidentally stole your sunglasses the other day so here you go.” Yuta handed him his sunglasses that he was convinced were lost forever and had already replaced. Well at least now he has a backup.

Sunglasses on his face and the Mojito in his hand were working their magic, Doyoung had to admit that Yuta was absolutely right. He was in a state of complete bliss. He spent the first few minutes sitting back and relaxing almost too nervous to stare at his own front yard. He finally worked up the courage and glanced up. It was 1000 times better than the picture.

Johnny was talking to Jaehyun and holding a hammer. He was still shirtless, his tool belt hanging low around his waist and the sun was making him sweat and he just glistened. He was shouting over the noise and making exaggerated motions towards Doyoung’s porch. Every time he moved he flexed a different part of his body and it was exhilarating.

“Oh my god.” Doyoung didn’t mean to say that out loud. “He’s going to kill me.”

“Yeah you have it baaaad.” Yuta laughed at his best friend. “I can practically hear you think and let me tell you it’s not pure at all.”

“Shut up. It’s hard to think at all to be honest.” His brain was fried. In fact all thought had left and the only thing burned in his memory was this moment in time. 

“Go over and talk to him!” Yuta tried to encourage him. 

“My brain to mouth filter isn’t working right now.” Doyoung muttered. “I would end up embarrassing myself so fast.”

At this time Donghyuck had finally showed up. He had run home to change into something less constricting. He was also dressed to sunbathe in a tank top and board shorts with sunnies adorning his face. 

“Aye losers. The party is finally here.” Donghyuck always announces himself with style. “Where is Mark?”

“Dunno haven’t seen him yet.” Doyoung responded, his eyes haven’t left Johnny yet.

“He ran inside a little bit ago. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” Yuta answered. “Grab a seat, this show is better than your scrawny boy anyways.”

“He’s not scrawny! Well maybe compared to Johnny and Jaehyun, but then again who isn’t.” Donghyuck joined them in the last seat. 

“You have no right to call anyone elses man scrawny.” Doyoung defended Hyuck, who rewarded him with a high five. “You married Taeyong.”

“Some of us marry for personality Doyoung. I don’t care about arm size, it’s all about the size of his heart.” Yuta replied seriously. That lasted all of two seconds before all of them burst out into laughter.

“Hey I think his personality is just as good as his pecs.” Doyoung defended himself. “Which is definitely saying something because look at them. How does a person look like that?”

“Mhhhmmm.” Yuta agreed. Johnny was still talking to Jaehyun, the rest of the crew had temporarily disappeared. “God they look like the hotter version of the property brothers.”

“They’re in a different class than the property brothers.” Donghyuck added. “The property brothers wish they looked like that.”

“I’m about to write to HGTV right now about a new show idea. I volunteer to shoot all the footage as well.” Yuta took out his phone and took another picture. 

“Send that to me.” Doyoung and Donghyuck said in unison. 

“I’m going to make it my wallpaper.” Donghyuck sighed. “What the heck Mark Lee, I’m going to change the object of the affections if you don’t show up soon.”

“I will kill you.” Doyoung turned towards the younger man, teeth slightly bared. 

“Calm down I was talking about Jaehyun.” He pushed Doyoung’s head back in the direction of the shirtless men. “If you took half the time you spent nagging me and put that energy into flirting with Johnny then maybe you would already be dating.”

“Doyoung can’t flirt so that won’t work.” Yuta divulged. “He’s awful at it, yet boys still flocked to him his whole life.”

“That’s why I’m bad at it.” Doyoung defended himself. “I never really had to try hard to get a boyfriend, people just asked me out.”

“That’s not what I heard. A little birdie told me that you were flirting with him pretty hard at the bar the other day.” Donghyuck smirked.

“Oh my god, who told you that?” Doyoung was mortified. That was most definitely not flirting. It was more like embarrassing himself constantly. Especially towards the end of the night when he was at his drunkest.

“I won’t reveal my sources.” But at that moment he blushed which gave the whole thing away.

“Mark Lee that snake.” Doyoung gasped. “When did you start talking to him?”

“I saw that you two were at the same bar and I decided to reach out to ask for information. He gave me all the dirty details.” 

“There were no dirty details. I just get really touchy when I’m drunk. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t as bad as Jungwoo.” He tried to defend himself. 

“Whatever you say. You definitely didn’t attach yourself to his side like a leech and not let go until be brought you to your doorstep.” Donghyuck looked way too smug.

“How did Mark even know about that? He wasn’t even in the Uber with us!”

“Speaking of Mark…” Yuta cut them off. “Your lover boy returned looking significantly less buff.”

Hyuck’s head whipped to the front, taking in the scene in all its glory before letting out a sigh. “He’s soooo cute. Look at him with his little hard hat on.”

“I’m rooting for you Hyuckie.” Doyoung admitted. “The next time you talk to him just try not to insult him.”

“He’s such a loser so it’s so hard not to.”

At that moment Johnny turned towards them and looked confused. It must have been the first time he had glanced over at them since he started working. He waved at the trio and started walking over. 

“Oh my god why is he coming over here?” Doyoung panicked. “Oh my god don’t let me say something embarrassing. In fact, I’m not going to talk at all.”

“Hey guys! What are you doing here Hyuckie?” Johnny came over and graced them with him smile.

“We had a half day at work. Decided that working on our tans was essential.” Donghyuck got up and hugged him, looking smugly at Doyoung while doing it. He was definitely not going to be jealous of that brat…

“We were just thinking about taking a break, do you mind if we join you?” 

“Please do.” Doyoung invited in his demise. 

“I made mojito’s, help yourself. Pitcher’s on the porch.” Yuta gestured in the general direction.

“Oh that sounds amazing, thanks Yuta.” Johnny headed back over to his team to give them all a break. Taeil ended up taking a phone call in Doyoung’s house but the other three made their way over to join the boys.

“What are you doing here Donghyuck?” Was Mark’s first remark when he approached the trio.

“Some of us have friends Mark.” Doyoung could just picture the eye roll that was concealed by Donghyuck’s sunglasses.

“I have friends. I just don’t understand why you do.” Mark retorted.

Hyuck flinched but managed to hide it. “Very well. Hang out with me tonight and I’ll show you why I have friends.”

That shocked pretty much everyone into a complete silence. Especially Mark who’s naturally sun flushed face had deepened to a dark red. He opened and then proceeded to close his mouth several times before finally uttering, “What?”

Donghyuck shrugged, pretending like he wasn’t also internally panicking. “You’re always saying that I’m not fun to hang out with, give me a chance to prove you wrong. If you don’t think so by tomorrow then you can just ignore me forever.”

“Fine, pick me up at 8.” Mark turned around marched back towards Doyoung’s house.

“It’s a date.” Hyuck called after him, causing the other to trip slightly. He recovered quite nicely and just continued his march through the lawn not glancing back even once.

“And that is how you do it.” Donghyuck looked smug.”Take notes Doyoung.”

“Why would Doyoung need to take notes?” Johnny looked perplexed.

“Yeah why  _ would _ Doyoung need to take notes?” The man in question gave Donghyuck a pointed look and a swift kick to the shin.

Luckily Donghyuck thought fast on his feet and answered, “He just thought that I was too chicken to ask Mark out. Glad I got to prove him wrong.”

“You certainly did. Where did that come from?” Doyoung was still shocked.

“I had on good authority that he found me more cute than annoying. So thank you anonymous source for that.” Hyuck then turned to wink at Johnny, who winked back then went back to acting clueless about the whole ordeal. “Also now that I have a date, I need to go home and get ready. Peace out.”

Donghyuck left just as quickly as he arrived, clearly excited for a chance to officially woo Mark. Right after that, Yuta offered to show Jaehyun his impressive liquor stash, and how to make his now infamous Mojito’s leaving Doyoung alone with Johnny.

“So I’m guessing it was you who told Hyuck that Mark was into him?” Doyoung tried to start any conversation that didn’t include his actions last Friday night.

“Yeah, I’m surprised my great acting gave that away.” Johnny laughed. “He had been less than subtle about his attraction for him, but knowing Mark he would have taken it to the grave. Hyuckie on the other hand would run with it as long as he had any kind of hope. I have a good feeling about those two.”

“Yeah I do too. That was really nice of you to help them out.” Doyoung was still a little bit shy about being an embarrassing drunk, but it seems like Johnny wasn’t going to comment about it so that made him feel a bit better about the whole situation.

“Just call me cupid.” He then proceeded to shoot a fake arrow straight through Doyoung’s very real heart.

Doyoung played his part and very dramatically pretended to be struck by the blow. The laughter Johnny rewarded him with made the theatrics worth it.

“Oh by the way are you still interested in helping me with the flooring to see if we can cut the costs down a bit?” Johnny reminded him.

“Definitely. Anything I can do to help.”

“That will be the last thing that we need to do. Are you available on Wednesday? The rest of the work should be done by then.” 

Doyoung was surprised that they would be able to finish everything by the following week. “Wednesday works for me.”

“I’ll see you then” Johnny’s eyes sparkled in the sun. “I better go grab Jaehyun and get back to work then. See you later Doyoung.”

Yuta rejoined him shortly after and they spent the next couple of hours sitting in a comfortable silence while watching Doyoung’s house come back to life.

//

Wednesday morning came and Doyoung had no idea what to wear. Doyoung, to literally no one’s surprise had done very little manual labor in his life. He should probably be more worried about the task at hand but instead he’s standing in front of his closet in a state of complete confusion.

He guessed that comfort is key and that he should avoid anything expensive. However he’s spent so much of his life working, or at least looking presentable that he didn’t have very many dispensable clothing options. A quick text to Yuta solved the whole problem, as he exchanged a muscle tee and some basketball shorts for a muffin that Doyoung had baked the night before.

Feeling slightly out of place he awaited Johnny’s arrival by pacing back and forth only stopping until when he heard a key in the lock.

Not meaning to seem too eager he peered around the door frame. “Oh Johnny, you’re here?”

“Were you expecting any other key wielding visitors?” Johnny questioned, keeping the door propped open while bringing in all his tools.

“I’m very popular, people always want to stop by.” Doyoung lied before winking to Johnny in jest.

“Oh I bet. Are you ready to tear up your floor?”

Now that was the part that Doyoung was really looking forward to. If he was going to be good at anything today, it would be the demolition part. “I can’t wait.”

Johnny laughed at his eagerness. “Let’s get started then. I’ve already torn up the part that I needed to replace the subfloor for to save us time. So let’s start by the massive hole in your living room and work towards your kitchen.”

“You’re the boss. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Do we get to destroy stuff now?” Doyoung had a lot of pent up anger ready to rise to the surface.

“I wouldn’t call it destroying per say.” Johnny reached into his bag and pulled out two longer pole like tools. “I would say more like careful extraction.”

“That doesn’t sound nearly as fun.” Doyoung pouted slightly. He was ready to go ham with some power tools.

“It will still be fun, I promise.” Johnny help out his pinky and Doyoung hooked it with his own. He will hold him to it.

“Ok fine let's carefully extract my floor.” Doyoung made a motion to grab the tool out of Johnny’s hand.

“Not so fast safety first.” Johnny leaned his equipment up against the wall and pulled out two hard hats and safety goggles. “You can never be too careful.”

Doyoung reluctantly took the necessary safety precautions and was finally handed his own tool.

“So this is what you call a T-Wreck bar.” Johnny explained, moving towards the part of the room where the floor had already partially been removed. “You take the side that looks like a T and jam it under the middle of the floorboard. Kick it in all the way and then lift up. The board should come loose enough to remove the whole thing. After that it's just rinse and repeat.”

“Oh that does kind of look fun.” Doyoung watched on as Johnny demonstrated by uprooting the whole line of floorboards.

“Just be careful because this side is really sharp. You don’t want to accidentally jam it into your appendage.” Johnny then let Doyoung attempt to remove a board.

It was incredibly less graceful than Johnny had made it look earlier. It also took a lot more strength than Doyoung had anticipated. He removed about one floorboard to Johnny’s five. However the older man still looked incredibly proud of him anytime he successfully removed his section.

“I think I’m getting better at this.” Doyoung said after a while.

“You definitely are. Every time I look at you you’re getting faster at it. Keep this up and we’ll have this whole thing done by dinner.” Johnny had a proud smile on his face and it made Doyoung’s cheeks flush. He played it off by going back to concentrate on the task at hand, but five minutes later he was still smiling.

It took about two and a half hours to pull up all the floor they were replacing. By the end of it, Doyoung was exhausted and had used up his sweating quota for the year.

“Well we got the easy part done, now we just have to replace it all.” Johnny of course didn’t look like he broke a sweat at all. He wasn’t out of breath and he definitely didn’t look ready to pass out on the spot where the floor used to be.

“Can we take a quick lemonade break. This is more exercise than I’ve gotten in the past five years put together.” Doyoung asked.

That made Johnny laugh, which was cause for celebration. “I love lemonade. You bet we can.”

The kitchen flooring didn’t need replacing so Johnny and Doyoung spent their free time sipping lemonade at the kitchen table.

“So where are you sleeping tonight?” Johnny asked. Once the hardwood goes in, it has to be laminated and apparently you can’t step on it for at least 24 hours after that.

“Oh probably just Yuta and Taeyong’s. Their couch is pretty comfy and they’re used to me bombarding them.” Doyoung didn’t even ask them, he just assumed he was always welcome on their couch.

“It must be nice to see your best friend whenever you want.” 

“Yeah I’ve really missed them a lot. Ever since I moved away and got married I haven’t spent nearly enough time back here. It’s been so good to catch up on everything.” Doyoung never realized how much his previous relationship had dictated his life until he came back into town. Before getting married he had made so much more time for friends.

“So you don’t miss your other home?” Johnny had a sour look on his face, but as soon as it appeared it dissipated. 

“I don’t think I’ve thought about it once since I’ve been back here.” Doyoung admitted.

“Well I’m definitely glad you’re back. I know we weren’t really that close in the past, but I feel like we’re becoming very close friends.”

“Oh yes. Close friends…” Well that stung. However Doyoung was not a quitter and hopefully at some point he will be able to convince him otherwise.

Before he forgot he shot a quick text to Yuta to let him know that he was going to be staying over at their place tonight.

Doyoung:

_ Yo Yuta, can I stay with you and Tae tonight? Johnny and I are redoing my floors and now I’m homeless for 24 hours... _

Yuta:

_ “Devil Emoji” _

Doyoung:

_ What does that mean? Why wouldn’t you have just used the actual devil emoji?  _

_ Yuta… _

_ NAKAMOTO YUTA! _

_ Answer me you cluck!!!!! _

Less than a minute later Yuta came bursting through his kitchen door.

“Doyoung I have terrible news.” His face conveyed the exact opposite however.

“No you don’t you weirdo. Get out of my house.” Doyoung threatened.

“You know how you were going to sleepover tonight? Unfortunately my darling husband Taeyong has come down with a horrible disease. It’s contagious so he would rather not risk the exposure on other people. Could you possibly find another place to sleep?” Yuta’s puppy dog eyes were out in full force.

“Oh that’s horrible, I hope he feels better.” Johnny actually looked worried. For some reason he was buying this whole pile of crap that Yuta was selling.

“Oh hey I have a swell idea. How about you stay at Johnny’s place?” Yuta turned his attention on the taller man. “You wouldn’t mind too terribly would you Johnny?”

“Yuta you can’t just impose…”

“Of course not, that’s a great idea.” Johnny interrupted him. “My couch might not be as comfortable as theirs but I would love to have you over.”

“Ok perfect. It’s settled then. Doyoung stays at Johnny’s tonight. Thank you so much. Now I must go home and tend to my ailing husband. See ya around boys.” Yuta then vanished as quickly as he came. 

“That bastard.” Doyoung muttered under his breath.

“I really don’t mind Doyoung.” Johnny was too nice for his own good. “We wouldn’t want you falling sick and not being able to enjoy your new and improved house.”

“Thank you I really appreciate it. My backup was probably staying with Donghyuck and his parents.” Doyoung shuddered at the thought.

“The Lee’s are great people, you might have a better time sleeping over there.” 

Doyoung forgot that Johnny and Donghyuck grew up together. He blurted out, “I would rather sleep with you.”

Although the rigorous workout hadn’t turned Johnny’s face red, that statement certainly did. He opened his mouth and motioned as if he would reply, but then immediately closed it.

“I mean… at your place. Oh god, I’ll just stop talking forever.” Doyoung cringed. Mr. Sigmund Freud would be having a field day with all the slips Doyoung seemed to acrew anytime he opened his mouth.

“No I knew what you meant. It’s all good.” The blush had spread to Johnny’s neck now. It was weirdly endearing. He finished the last gulp of his lemonade before washing his glass and placing it neatly in the drying rack. “So are we ready to put back in your floors?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” 

//

Johnny was right. Putting in the floor turned out to be way more exhausting and time consuming then ripping it out. It also wasn’t as fun. It was a painstaking process of laying down the floor boards and cutting the pieces of wood to fit into each row.

Before that even could be done they had to clean the entire subfloor to make sure that there would be any debris lurking underneath the new flooring. 

“Measure twice, cut once.” Johnny had done a great job explaining the entire process. “Wood doesn’t come cheap and if you cut it too small, then you’ve basically thrown money out the window. I promised to keep this as close to your budget as possible and I will keep my word.”

He had also explained how the hardwood had to have been placed in the room 48 hours before the actual flooring took place so that it could acclimate to the room. Doyoung had pretty much just stuck to the measuring and applying the glue. Johnny was doing most of the brunt work by cutting the pieces to the correct size so that they can finish up a row and laying down the actual flooring. They had gotten into a rhythm of it, but it was still going pretty slow.

“Want to switch things up?” Johnny asked? “Would you like to cut a few pieces?”

They had finished up about 75% of the flooring and Johnny had been pleased at the progress so far. 

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Doyoung questioned. The last thing he wanted to do is mess things up when they had been going so great so far.

“I trust you.” Well that did things to Doyoung’s heart rate. Johnny was smiling back at him and suddenly he had no choice but to go along with it.

“So I just line it up under this circle saw thing and push down?” Doyoung asked. 

“Not so fast there hot shot.” Johnny laughed at his eagerness. “First you need to get to the side of the wood. I’ve already penciled in the line you’re going to want to follow. Line it up with that third groove on the saw. When you’re all lined up and turned on, you’re going to wait until the saw has reached full speed and then glide it across the line. No need to rush. Slow and steady wins the race.”

Doyoung tried to remember all the steps. He lines it by the third grove and is ready to turn it on. Well at least he thinks he is. “Like this?”

“Not exactly. You’re coming in at an angle so the cut will be slightly diagonal and then we won’t be able to fit it in. Here let me show you.” Johnny then proceeded to stand behind Doyoung and wrap his arms around his body letting his hands fall right above Doyoung’s. He guided the saw so that it was straight. “Make sure to hold the wood with your other hand so that it doesn’t drop. Now you’re ready to go.”

All the air had left Doyoung’s body. He dared a glance behind him and saw Johnny looking down at him. Their eyes caught for a moment before Doyoung’s head whipped back to the front. He turned on the saw and let it work its way up to full speed. He then slowly moved it along the line, letting Johnny’s hands guide him the whole way through. At the very end, Johnny’s hand that wasn’t on the saw dropped to Doyoung’s waist.

Needless to say he was not expecting that in the least bit. Doyoung gasped and in his state of shock let go of the piece of wood entirely just as the saw made its final cut. The wood fell immediately, but not before the raw edge scraped all the way down Doyoung’s leg.

“Shit. Oh fuck I’m so sorry.” Johnny exclaimed while looking down at the damage. He then carefully put down the saw on the table and picked up Doyoung and ran him into the kitchen and set him down on top of the counter. “I’ll be right back so don’t move.”

Doyoung only waited a minute for Johnny’s return. He was carrying a small white box and still looked just as worried. “Good thing I always keep one of these in the car just in case one of the boys needs it.”

He carefully opened the first aid kit on the table and pulled out some antiseptic which he applied after cleaning off the blood that was running down Doyoung’s leg. Doyoung didn’t open his mouth in fear that he would do something embarrassing like cry. It didn’t even hurt that much but the whole situation was extremely overwhelming. 

“I’m going to take off your shoe if you don’t mind. It will give me a better vantage point to bandage up your leg.” 

Doyoung nodded and suddenly he was living a reverse Cinderella fantasy as Johnny careful removed it and ran his hands up his calf. Suddenly the silence was a little bit unbearable and Doyoung decided he needed to break that.

“You must care for the crew so much to always keep this with you.” 

“They’re my family. I would do anything for them.” Johnny responded. He still looked troubled as he wrapped gauze around Doyoung’s calf before taping it closed.

“Thank you.” Doyoung didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry I was so reckless.”

“No it was all my fault. I was… also reckless.” He hid his face while speaking but Doyoung would have given anything to see his expression.

“No you told me to hold on and I didn’t listen. Thanks for patching me up. I’m good as new now. Although I think I’ll go back to just measuring.”

“Absolutely not. I’ll finish up the rest myself. You can rest in here until I finish.” It was the most stern he had seen Johnny since probably high school. His tone meant all business so Doyoung didn’t dare resist.

“At least let me keep you company?” He reasoned.

“Fine.” Johnny relented. “But if you try to do any work I’ll just have to manhandle you again. Don’t test me I’ll do it.

Doyoung rather liked the sound of that but he resisted because he wanted to enjoy Johnny’s company more.

//

With Doyoung’s major setback they definitely didn’t finish by dinner. The sun had long since set before they finished. Doyoung had already packed his overnight bag and left it downstairs before Johnny had gotten to replacing the floor in front of the stairway. They both decided it was best to go straight to Johnny’s and just eat some leftovers, too exhausted to pick up any food.

After the quick meal, a movie was suggested but quickly shot down as neither of them had the brain power left to follow even the stupidest of plots. Johnny let Doyoung use the restroom first to get ready. When he finished his nightly routine he strolled back out to the living room only to see Johnny lying on the couch.

“Hey Johnny, I’m all ready for bed, you can use the bathroom now.” Doyoung fully intended on passing out as soon as the other got up.

“I’ve decided I’m sleeping here tonight and you can have my bed.” Johnny stretched out, not leaving the couch. His legs were comically too long, draping over the side. It was definitely not made for anyone his height.

“Absolutely not. You’re doing me a huge favor by letting me sleep here, I’m not taking your bed.” Doyoung would not be able to sleep knowing that his host most likely wouldn’t be able to.

“You’re my guest and you’re injured. You need to rest your leg somewhere comfy. I would feel terrible if I made you stay out here.” Johnny was quite literally and figuratively not budging.

Doyoung had to take matters into his own hands. “Fine. If that’s the way you want to play this, I’m not leaving either,” and he sat directly on top of Johnny.

“Don’t do this Doyoung.” Johnny threatened. “ I’ll tickle you into you leave.”

“I'd like to see you try.” Doyoung has never been ticklish and much to Johnny’s great disappointment this tactic didn’t work either. “Johnny you can’t even fit on this couch. You would be so uncomfortable.”

“Do I need to carry you in there?” Johnny asked while finally sitting up and coming face to face with Doyoung, who was now sitting in his lap. This time when their eyes met, he didn’t look away and decided to get lost in them instead.

“I guess you do.” Doyoung whispered, hoping that he would follow through. He barely got to enjoy being picked up by those biceps earlier as it had all happened so fast.

True to his word, Johnny hoisted him in the air, his eyes still interlocked with Doyoung’s. Doyoung took this opportunity to wrap his legs around his waist and hung on tight. Johnny carried them all the way to his bedroom.

It seemed like Johnny had every intention of throwing Doyoung into his bed, so he kept his body wrapped around his, not letting go for a moment. Johnny tried to throw the other onto his bed but Doyoung held on for dear life and Johnny ended up toppling into the bed with him.

Once they were both lying down, it was much harder to stay entangled and Johnny managed to escape from the death grip Doyoung had inflicted. He got up, smug look on his face and headed towards the door. “Goodnight Doyoung.”

“Wait Johnny!” Doyoung voice was desperate. There was no way he was letting this man leave his side tonight. His voice dropped down while delivering the next line. “Stay with me.”

Johnny had his back facing him, already halfway out the door. “You don’t know what you’re saying Doyoung. Go to bed.”

Doyoung stood up and grabbed onto Johnny’s hand. “I know exactly what I’m saying Johnny Seo. Stay with me.”

Johnny finally turned around and their eyes met again. Each time more electric than the previous. “Doyoung. If I stay here, I’m going to want to…” He trailed off and tried to leave the room one more time.

Doyoung held onto his hand. “You’ll want to what? You’ll want to do this?”

Doyoung then grabbed onto the side of Johnny’s neck and pulled his head down so they were seeing eye to eye. It took all the nerve he had to lunge forward and capture his lips. They were soft and for a terrifying second they were motionless. Doyoung brought his other hand up to grip his face and kissed with a little more vigor, leaving his heart out in the open.

Johnny finally responded. He returned the kiss tenfold and wrapped his hands around Doyoung’s waist. Doyoung had hoped this day would happen since he first saw Johnny in his front lawn, surprised that he was the one to show up. Of course that had only been the lust talking. Each time he saw Johnny, his fondness for him grew. He was not only bangable, he was also the sweetest person ever. He had just spent the whole day basically doing free manual labor so that Doyoung wouldn’t have to take out a loan.

It wasn’t just to him either. He had joked around with Yuta and Taeyong, and was voluntarily a guinea pig for Yuta’s drink experiments. He was a surprisingly great friend to Hyuck that the younger had called him his older bro on numerous occasions. He treated his employees like family and Doyoung felt proud to be apart of that. Doyoung had fallen hard for Johnny’s entire being, both body and heart.

While these mindless thoughts had been permeating his brain, Johnny had taken the opportunity to move Doyoung back onto the bed, never breaking the kiss. It had started pretty PG but was now heating up. Johnny pulled out of the kiss first, taking a long look at Doyoung. Now that he knew what Johnny tasted like, he wasn’t about to let it end that easily.

Doyoung chased after his lips, needing to be connected. Johnny gave Doyoung a quick nip which surprised him, but in a good way. Johnny had finally started taking control of the situation, his lips trailing down Doyoung’s neck and ending at his collarbones. He started unbuttoning Doyoung’s pajama top to give him more access, before stopping to meet his eyes.

“Doyoung just say the word and we’ll stop.” Johnny looked like he was waiting for Doyoung to agree with him, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Doyoung answered by removing the rest of his shirt and curling his fingers under the hem of Johnny’s. “Take me to bed Johnny. Please.”

That seemed to crumble the rest of his resolve so Johnny grabbed onto Doyoung’s wrists and helped him take off the rest of his shirt revealing the body of a god that Doyoung had already verified once. He was trying to control himself, but then he realized he didn’t need to. He reached out and ran his fingers down the length of his torso.

Johnny shivered involuntarily and then set his sights on Doyoung, kissing him all over. Doyoung was getting a little impatient and wanted to be kissing him again as well. He pouted, trying to draw attention to his lips.

“A little impatient are we. Don’t worry love, we have all night.” Johnny rubbed the small of his back sending tingles up his spine. He did end up giving Doyoung what he wanted though, as he finally recaptured their lips in a kiss.

“You think you can handle me all night?” Doyoung asked between kisses, but the light in Johnny’s eyes confirmed that he was definitely ready for that.

//

Doyoung woke up the next day in a state of bliss. It had taken him a moment to recognize the setting during the day and another to remember the events of the previous night. Although he had been planning on confessing his feelings before this all went down to make sure they were on the same page, he definitely didn’t have any regrets about how it all went down.

He glanced over to the other side of the bed to see that he was alone. Doyoung had never been an early riser so this wasn’t much of a surprise. He slowly made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and put on real clothes before making his way to the kitchen. He didn’t see Johnny there either, but there was a note left on the counter.

_ Doyoung, _

_ I’ve got a lot to do at work today, so I headed out early. Didn’t want to wake you up. The door locks on the way out, so you can leave whenever. _

_ Johnny _

Well that was the least romantic note Doyoung had ever received. Especially given the circumstances of the night before. He was slightly worried about the lack of affection in the message, but it’s hard to tell tones through the written word. It was already lunchtime so Doyoung thought it would be a good idea to stop by Johnny’s work to talk things over.

He was still excited on the ride over, and couldn’t wait to see Johnny again. After last night, there was no way that there weren't any feelings involved. Jungwoo was there to greet him when he entered the office.

“Doyoung, what a pleasant surprise.” Jungwoo always seemed genuinely happy to see him which warmed his heart.

“Hi Jungwoo. It’s good to see you too.” Doyoung returned the affection. “Is Johnny in? I was hoping to catch him on his lunch break?”

“Yeah he’s in his office. Let me call him first.” Johnny picked up on the first ring. “Hey Johnny, Doyoung is here to see you. Can I let him in?”

Unfortunately the volume was up pretty high so Doyoung could perfectly hear Johnny respond, “Um please just tell him I’m busy Jungwoo. Can you say that I’m in a meeting or something?”

Jungwoo’s lips pursed in a thin line. “Will do.”

“He’s pretending to be in a meeting?” Doyoung was so confused. He thought they had a great time last night and now Johnny was clearly avoiding him.

“I’m sorry Doie. I’m sure it had nothing to do with you showing up, he’s been in an off mood all day.”

That didn’t make him feel any better. If his sour mood was carrying over from last night, then it definitely had to do with Doyoung. “Can you just have him call me later?”

“Of course. I’ll let him know before he leaves.”

He didn’t hear anything back from Johnny for the entire next week. The only time he saw him was the last day of construction at Doyoung’s house. Once might have been a fluke, but twice he was definitely avoiding him. Doyoung had gathered up all his courage to go and talk to him but Johnny bolted the moment he saw him.

Jaehyun had to be the one to return Doyoung’s keys to him. “Enjoy your new house. Please call Seo Construction if you have any questions.”

And just like that Doyoung’s excuse to see Johnny had vanished. He tried to stop by his work under the guise of finishing up the payments, but he either wasn’t there or was doing a bang up job of avoiding Doyoung all together. 

He had been so down at work, even Donghyuck had been nice to him. He hadn’t tried to steal wine in weeks.

“Do you want me to beat him up for you?” The younger threatened. “I know I’m short, but I’m really scrappy.”

“I might take you up on that if he doesn’t get back to me soon.” Doyoung lied.

Hyuck took that as a sign that Doyoung needed a hug and latched onto him and wouldn’t let go for the rest of their shift.

The one last thing that Doyoung hadn’t tried yet was just straight up texting him, but that effort turned out to be fruitless as well.

Doyoung:

_ Hi Johnny _

_ Can we talk? _

Contractor Extradinoare 😏🔨💦:

Doyoung:

_ Please. I miss you _

_ Did I do something wrong? I really thought we were on the same page… _

Contractor Extradinoare 😏🔨💦:

Doyoung:

_ Well if you ever want to talk I’ll be here _

_ Sorry _

//

It took another two weeks before Doyoung had finally had enough.

“Yuta I’m about to do something brash and impulsive.” Doyoung barged into the house next door.

“Oh sweet I’m in. What are we going to do?” 

“We’re going to destroy my house so that Johnny has to come back and fix it again.” Doyoung stated confidently as if it wasn’t the stupidest thing he’s ever said.

Yuta stared incredulously. “Ok, I’m out. Are you fucking kidding me Doie?”

“No. I mean yes I am. But not really. If you don’t do it with me I’ll just do it myself.” That made sense in Doyoung’s head but it came out sounding like gibberish. He turned around and was about to go back to give his house the beat down of a lifetime with or without Yuta. So much for best friends.

“Woooah, slow down there. You actually sound crazy, Doyoung. Before you leave at least hear me out.” Yuta physically dragged Doyoung by his shoulders and forced him to sit on their couch.

Still frazzled, Doyoung decided to stay long enough to listen to what Yuta had to say. 

“Doyoung this is the most ill advised plan you have ever conceived. The amount of money that went into that remodel was almost your entire life savings. Also the amount of work. Think of how upset Johnny would be if you destroyed weeks of his team's hard work. You know they’re like a family to him. This is not the right way to get his attention and you know that.”

Doyoung did know that. Still his stubbornness wasn’t allowing him to let go of this without a fight. “Well he won’t even talk to me. How else am I supposed to get his attention?”

“There’s a difference between positive and negative attention. What you’re doing now is what crazy people do. Do you think Johnny is going to want to talk to you more if he thinks you’re certifiable?”

Yuta was starting to make sense. Or maybe he had always made sense and the weird fog that had been blocking the decision making part of his brain had cleared. Doyoung sighed and waved a metaphorical white flag. “I know, I know. I’m just sad I guess. I thought we were going somewhere.”

“You were baby, you were.” Yuta pulled into a hug and allowed Doyoung to rest his head on his shoulder. “Now are you still thinking about destroying your beautifully renovated home?”

“No.” Doyoung sniffed. “Not anymore.”

“Thank god.” Yuta let out a huge sigh. “I've only been the responsible friend for 5 minutes and I already hate it. Please take it back.”

“Taeyong already called dibs on being the responsible friend. Neither of us have to do it.” Thank god for that. 

“Yeah we wouldn’t even last a day. Destructiveness is in our nature.” Yuta agreed. “Now does Johnny still go out with his team every friday?”

“I guess so.”   
  
“Ok so this Friday you, me and Tae are going to crash and you’ll look so hot that he’ll have to notice you.” Yuta sounded very sure about this plan so Doyoung nodded. “I kept all my clubbing clothes from college. This is going to be so much fun.”

//

Doyoung thought that he would be a ball of nerves on Friday, but he was just so ready to get to the bottom of whatever had happened with Johnny that he was eerily calm.

“You don’t mind if we come, do you Doie?” Taeyong asked for the tenth time that evening. “If this is something that you would rather do alone we can drop you off and pick you up after.”

“No I need you guys there. Please don’t let me punch him, even if he says something incredibly stupid.” Doyoung had been in half a bar fight when he was 21 and since then had sworn off any alcohol induced violence. Yuta said that even calling it half a bar fight was being generous.

“I will make no promises. You should punch him no matter what he says. You don’t deserve the cold shoulder. Show him who's boss.” Yuta argued while putting in his earrings. It had apparently been awhile since the old married couple had gone out because both of them had dolled up even more than Doyoung had.

Taeyong had shelled out for an Uber so Doyoung barely had enough time to collect his thoughts before arriving at the bar. Jungwoo had checked their crew in on facebook earlier so he knew for a fact that Johnny was already there.

When they entered Doyoung’s eyes immediately went towards the booth that they were sitting in before. They must be creatures of habit because he immediately spotted some familiar faces. Jungwoo was still sitting in Jaehyun’s lap, even though this time the booth had more than enough room. Taeil and Mark sat next to each other laughing at something on the elders phone. The last person in the booth was his target, Mr. Johnny Seo.

As soon as the door man checked his ID, Doyoung immediately marched over to the spot they were all sitting before he could lose his nerve. “You’re one hard man to track down Johnny.” He spat out, hand slamming on the table, blocking Johnny in so that he couldn’t run away again.

“Doyoung.” He looked less than enthused to see him there.”What are you doing here?”

“It’s called an ambush moron.” Yuta stood right behind Doyoung ready to egg his friend on. “Don’t you dare try to escape or I will tackle you to this beer stained floor.”

“I don’t really have anything to say to you.” Johnny gritted out. His teeth were biting his bottom lip so hard that Doyoung thought they were about to draw blood.

“Tough luck, I do.” Doyoung was certainly not about to let his dream man go without a fight. “So listen to me or I’ll ambush you everywhere you go until you do.”

“I would listen to him.” Taeyong chimed in, his eyes were narrowed and Doyoung finally saw a glimpse into why some people were scared of him. “He’s very tenacious and will definitely do it.”

Johnny paused for a moment before finally agreeing. Doyoung pulled him over to the other side of the bar so that they could have some privacy from the prying eyes of their friends.

“I’m sorry I had to do it this way but you’ve been ignoring me.” Doyoung started off. “I really thought that we were on the same page about this but I guess not.”

“Doyoung that night was a mistake.” Johnny crushed his dreams. “I thought putting some distance between us would help.”

“Oh.” He didn’t know how to respond to that. Doyoung’s eyes started watering but by sheer force of will he made sure no tears dropped out. That was the last thing that he wanted to do.

“Doyoung you know that this can’t happen.” Johnny almost looked sad, which was maddening because this was all his fault. If anyone should be sad it was Doyoung.

“No I don’t know anything Johnny. I thought everything was good and then you suddenly ghosted me. I thought that something could happen between us, you were the only one who didn’t.’

“Doyoung you don’t see anything wrong with this scenario at all? I thought you would want distance as well. I thought it would be easier for both of us.” Johnny still wasn’t looking at him and was still spewing nonsense.

“I like you.” Doyoung blurted out. “I guess I should have said that before so that you could reject me. So I don’t regret this at all. Even though you clearly do.”

“Why are you doing this Doyoung?” Johnny’s voice sounded pained. 

“Because I thought you liked me too.” Doyoung was on the verge of shouting. He didn’t want to draw too much attention though, so he took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “I thought we were flirting. I thought we were building up to something this last month. I’m not an idiot Johnny. You were flirting back. You kissed me back, I’m not inventing this imaginary chemistry.”

Johnny let out a frustrated sigh. “I was flirting with you Doyoung. I’m not denying that. This whole thing was my fault. I couldn’t help myself and especially since I haven’t seen you in so long, I took a chance. However I’m not like this and I didn’t think you were either. It’s wrong Doyoung and I take full responsibility, I just don’t understand why you’re ok with everything.”

“Why? Just because I was your employer? You finished my house a couple days after. I didn’t think it was a big deal. It wasn’t even in the contract you made me sign. I read that thing front to back, so don’t try to convince me that it was.” Doyoung was beyond frustrated. What kind of outdated thinking was that.

“No I don’t care about that.” Johnny crossed his arms. 

“Then what? Why did you ignore me?”

“Because you’re fucking married Doyoung.” Johnny said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and if it was true then it would have been.

It took Doyoung’s brain a minute to process what had been said. At first he was angry that Johnny thought he was the kind of person who would do that. However, Johnny didn’t really know him before he moved back and had thought this whole time that he was hitched. He had tried to fight off his attraction and when he succumbed to it felt so bad that he ignored Doyoung so that it couldn’t happen again.

“Oh my god.” Doyoung guessed he deserved this for not being able to talk about the real reason that he returned back to his hometown. 

“Doyoung I’m going to be really honest here. I like you a lot. I’ve liked you since High School when you wouldn’t pay me any attention. I thought I would grow out of it, and for awhile I did. Then you came back and my feelings did as well. Then I got to know you for rea this time and I fell even harder. I tried to stay away, but you’re just so…” Johnny finally looked at Doyoung and it took his breath away. “You’re just really special. Everything about you is. I couldn’t stay away from you, even though I tried so hard.”

“Oh my god.”

“But I can’t do this. It’s not fair to your husband. You shouldn’t do this Doyoung.” Johnny hadn’t lost eye contact with him. He looked so nobel, trying to ignore his feelings.

“Johnny I’m not married.” Doyoung then realized that wasn’t technically the whole truth corrected himself. “I mean I’m not married anymore.”

Johnny now looked extremely confused. “What?”

“We separated almost a year ago.” Doyoung admitted. Now would be a good time to spill everything. “He cheated on me so I left him. The divorce finally went through earlier this year. I really needed an escape from my old life, so that’s the real reason I came back here. It’s a bit of a sore subject so I didn’t want to talk about it. Basically my parents gave me a way out and I took it.”

“You’re not married?” Johnny now looked hopeful. “You never said anything, and no one else did either. I really thought that you… Why do you still wear your wedding ring?”

Doyoung looked down at his hand. “Oh this isn’t my wedding ring. I just wear it because I like it. It’s not even on my left hand.”

“Oh. It looks exactly like a wedding band. Can I ask you a couple more questions?” Johnny asked. “If you feel uncomfortable then you don’t have to, I just need some answers.”

“Go ahead.” His secrets were what got him into this mess in the first place. It was probably a good idea to not keep anything else inside.

“You’re not still into him are you?” 

“God no.” There were definitely no lingering feelings towards that relationship. “We got married when we were so young, and I was bitter for awhile but those feelings aren’t there anymore. I’ve had almost a year to get over him and I didn’t even need half of that. I’m definitely not still into him.”

“So this wasn’t a rebound situation?” Johnny still looked slightly doubtful which was heartbreaking.

“Not at all!” Doyoung confirmed for him. “I really like you Johnny and I haven’t thought about him once since I’ve gotten back here. I’m sorry for keeping this from you. To be honest with how gossipy our friends are, I assumed you already knew.”

“Everyone kept it a secret I guess.” Johnny laughed, and Doyoung’s heart filled with hope once more. “Why is this the one thing that they kept their mouths shut about?”

“Johnny can I ask you something now?” After Johnny nodded, Doyoung continued with, “Do you think you could still give us a chance? I know everything was messed up since you thought I’ve been taken this whole time. Are you still willing to give this a shot?”

“Doyoung I meant it earlier. I’ve been waiting for you to notice me since High School. I still think this is a dream or something. I thought about us getting together and convinced myself it was all wishful thinking. That you weren’t flirting back with me. Then that night at my place happened and I couldn’t escape it anymore.” Johnny took Doyoung’s hands in his while he said that. Doyoung was never going to let go.

“I think we did this all about as backward as possible.” Doyoung giggled. “What should we do now?”

“Now I’m going to take you on a proper date Doyoung Kim.” Johnny dropped his hand for a moment and Doyoung almost pouted. However he ended up wrapping his arms around Doyoung’s waist which more than made up for it. “Now that I know you’re single I’m going to court the hell out of you.”

“I’m going to let you.” Doyoung was excited. A year ago the prospect of dating was incredibly unappealing but now he wanted nothing more. “Do your worst Johnny Seo.”

When Johnny finally leaned in for a kiss Doyoung felt his whole world light up. Unfortunately the moment his lips brushed his, there was loud cheering that brought them back to humanity. All their friends were screaming at them across the bar. 

“Fucking finally!” Yuta’s voice stood out over the others. Doyoung brought his finger to his lips to shush him.

“They’re probably dying to find out what happened. Should we go over there and spill the beans?” Johnny’s arms were still wrapped around him. 

Doyoung relented but what he really wanted to do is grab onto Johnny and never let go.

“Finally.” Jaehyun greeted them when they arrived. “Johnny hasn’t stopped talking about you since High School.”

“I really had no idea.” Doyoung really hadn’t paid much attention to him back then. It was truly his loss.

“He was not subtle about it at all.” Taeil chimed in. 

“I guess I’m just oblivious then.”

Yuta leaned over to him and asked, “I guess we don’t have to beat anyone up then? It’s a shame really.”

“I wouldn’t have had it any other way.” Doyoung responded, glancing over at Johnny who was pulling Taeil into a headlock. 

Although his last year was a trying one, Doyoung wouldn’t change it for the world. He ended up exactly where he was supposed to be. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I can't wait to read everyone's stories as all the prompts seemed like so much fun. 
> 
> Comments and feedback are always appreciated <3 <3 <3


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